


facet

by ISimpForAnimeBoys, lkyjellyl



Category: Persona 5, Persona 5: The Royal - Fandom, Persona Series
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - College/University, Amamiya Ren and Kurusu Akira Are Twins, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Bonding, Depression, I deleted yaldy, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Implied/Referenced Suicide, M/M, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Mildly Dubious Consent, Non-Murderer Goro, Omega!Akira, Persona 5 Protagonist Has A Palace, Slow Burn, Team Leader Goro, Threesome - M/M/M, Twincest, Twins, Underage Sex, Underage stuff is in flashbacks, alpha!Ren, alpha!goro, new palaces
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-09
Updated: 2021-01-27
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:47:59
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Underage
Chapters: 10
Words: 71,995
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26371435
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ISimpForAnimeBoys/pseuds/ISimpForAnimeBoys, https://archiveofourown.org/users/lkyjellyl/pseuds/lkyjellyl
Summary: Ren and Akira Kurusu were alpha and omega twins born in a small town with few people their own age around. For a long time they only had one another, until one day, Ren vanished. A few years later, Akira’s parents decide they’ve had enough of trying to deal with their leftover omega child. After kicking him out, Akira struggles to find a place in his small town that will take him in. Years drag on with no sign of Ren and no sign of a better life. One day, Akira gets a letter from someone inviting him to take advantage of services from an organization called PILLOW. With few other choices, Akira decides to accept the invitation and moves to Tokyo. There he meets Goro Akechi, Detective Prince and social media heart throb, but there’s something mysterious about this alpha that Akira can’t put his finger on.
Relationships: Akechi Goro/Amamiya Ren, Akechi Goro/Amamiya Ren/Kurusu Akira, Akechi Goro/Kurusu Akira, Akechi Goro/Persona 5 Protagonist, Amamiya Ren/Kurusu Akira
Comments: 64
Kudos: 157





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to ‘facet’! I’m Ky and I wanted to lay out some things for this fic before it gets started. General warnings that I want to remind you of from the tags are: there is incest in this fic, specifically twin related incest between Akira and his ‘brother’ Ren. If you are uncomfortable with fictional incest please turn back now. Thank you! :D
> 
> This is a fanfiction set in the omegaverse universe. There are always different ways people handle A/B/O in general but I will detail how I plan to use it in this fic. I’ll try to keep it brief so please bear with me!
> 
> In this story, there are two 'assigned at birth’ sexes. Male and female, these assignments are made based on genitalia at time of birth. Following birth sexes a secondary, sub-gender, presents when between the ages of thirteen to sixteen. These genders are alpha, beta, and omega. In terms of parents, mother/mom is the person who carried the child and father/dad is the one who sired.

alpha 

Alphas are considered in many circles to be the ‘superior’ gender and make up at least 25% of the population. Alphas can be both male and female though alphas assigned female at birth have both a vagina and a penis. The chances of an alpha-f getting pregnant is very low but still possible. All alphas, regardless of birth assigned sexes, have knots at the base of their penis that grows in size when in a rut triggered by an omegas heat or other natural means. A knot helps to join an alpha to their partner for a long duration of time after climax. This time can span between fifteen minutes to an hour and during that time they will continuously ejaculate.

Other natural means for an alphas rut to trigger are in cases of highly stimulating situations such as fighting or in the case that they haven’t gone into a rut for some time. The only relief for a rut is ejaculation or medication.

Alphas are generally taller, more attractive, and, in many cases, more aggressive than betas or omegas. Each alpha has a unique scent that is normally used to help identify claimed partners. On the other side of this, alphas have heightened senses of smell to identify omegas in heat or in distress. To act as protectors for their partners, alphas easily gain muscle and will grow stronger if they find their partner in distress. A drawback of this is that some alphas can be seen as extremely violent if they are unable to keep themselves in check. Alphas are often viewed as overachievers and leaders of society. They often are picked over others for high paying jobs in management, CEO positions, politics, and sports teams. 

beta

Betas are, in the simplest terms, the most basic gender. They make up about 65% of society and are seen as neutrals in the world. A majority of betas live as their assigned at birth sexes but there are a percentage of them that are known to transition if uncomfortable with what they were assigned. Betas can become partners with any gender without trouble. Unlike alphas betas do not exude a strong scent though they can mark their partners to ‘claim’ them. They are generally able to resist an omegas heat as they do not go into ruts. Because of this fact they are most consistently able to keep control of themselves during an omega’s heat. The resistance to omega heats makes betas the best choice to work in the medical field or in teaching positions where they can assist omegas more readily.

omega

Omegas are the rarest of society. They make up 10% of the total population and are generally split evenly between male and female sexes. Omega-f they are simply more fertile than beta-f. However for omega-m they are born with a penis and an additional entrance in their anus that leads to a uterus to allow for impregnation. All omegas release pheromones though it can be weakened or hidden by use of suppressants. In times of heat omegas release large quantities of phranomes to try calling an alpha partner to them. Omegas in general have softer features but there are some who can pass as beta or alpha though it is few.

Omegas tend to have trouble holding steady jobs due to their heats. Without a regime of suppressants and birth control an omega has a monthly heat unless they are bonded/claimed. Heats, regardless of birth assigned sex, are times of the month when an omega is most fertile. They tend to lose track of cognitive ability and have a strong urge to have sexual intercourse. A normal heat lasts between three to seven days and during that time an omega can have sex near constantly. 

During times of heat omegas often make nests to feel comfortable. Without sexual toys or a partner to ride out a heat with, an omega will experience a high fever and a moderate level of pain. It is recommended that unbonded omegas have at least knot emulating toys to assist in heats. If an alpha forces themselves on an omega in heat, blame often falls to the omega for not being more careful. Because of this most unclaimed omegas will hide away until their heats are over.

claim/bond

A claim or bond mark is something done between partners. Bonding itself is not a sexual act. To bond one partner, or both, bites the others around the neck to show that person as claimed. The bond is most significant between an alpha and an omega though it is seen as a societal common practice among all three genders. 

For an omega, a bond bite around the scent glands on the neck helps to regulate their phranomes. As a consequence of being bonded, these omegas are able to operate with more freedom. They do not have severe heats and heats they do have only last for one to three days. Bonded omegas are hard to pick out and often are treated as betas. Betas can also form a claim mark on an omega though with not as much success and will often need to be rebonded.

Bonding marks beyond the alpha/omega or beta/omega partnerships are only done as a custom. They do not mean as much between two betas or an alpha/beta partnership as if an omega was involved. For an omega involved it’s a promise to protect them from unwanted attention or sex, and as such in other groups is seen as romantic. There are some omegas who simply form bonds with others in order to live normally without fear of harassment.

A bond for an omega is normally seen as a once in a lifetime event. A claimed omega is often unwanted by others even if their partner has died. It is rare, but possible, for an omega to be claimed by a new partner but the practice is so uncommon that there is not enough science to explain why it’s possible. A claimed omega will only release pheromones that affect their bonded partner, primarily alphas. Most bonded pairs are much more sensitive to each other's heat/ruts than they are to strangers after that. An omegas heat, once bonded, tends to not be as powerful for other alphas but will send bonded alphas into a rut.

*Alphas are considered minors until the age of 18.

*Betas are considered minors until the age of 20.

*Omegas are considered minors until the age of 22 or until bonded. An omega minor is in consideration of autonomy and not of sexual maturity. 

PILLOW

PILLOW aka Protecting Injured Lost Lonely Omega Wards, is a government run program meant to protect omegas in various situations. PILLOW has only been active for three years now but in those three years it has helped hundreds of omegas across Japan. Their promise and slogan is “You can rest safely with us.” and it is followed carefully. The program works on a number of fronts including but not limited to, rescuing omegas from abusive relationships, providing financial assistance for omegas who lose work due to heats, providing omegas homes after being discarded by family or other, providing therapy, and covering costs for birth control/suppressants.

PILLOW was founded by Doctor Wakaba Ishiki and Doctor Takuto Maruki with the financial backing of Kunikazu Okumura, Naoko Yoshida, Satoshi Tanjiro, and Mayuri Todoroki. As of last year PILLOW has been operating completely independently from its original investors and is now considered an important government program. It will be fully inducted as a pillar of government next year.

Chapter 1

━━━━━━━💎━━━━━━━

The day was hot and the sky was clear but for a thirteen year old Akira Kurusu, it might as well have been storming. Last week was the worst week of his life so far. Three weeks ago Ren, his younger twin brother, had presented as an alpha. At the time Akira had been excited because he was sure to present the same shortly after. However, last week Akira had woken to his worst nightmare. His body was hot, his ass was slick, and he wanted something inside him. They’d had sex ed last year at school, he remembered what it mean. It meant he was an omega. 

When they’d learned about the difference between genders a few of the kids in class had talked about what their parents said about omegas. They were sex crazed and couldn’t be trusted on their own. A few kids said their parents already warned them that they wouldn’t be allowed to play with omegas because bad things could happen. 

Not only was Akira going to miss out on things because he wasn’t wanted around, his heats were going to incapacitate him for almost a week on months he needed to let his body just experience a heat so he didn’t hurt himself. Why couldn’t he have just been a beta? That would have been fine too. Why did this have to happen to him?

“A-ki-ra~” Ren called to his brother before flopping down on the lawn to sit next to him and offer Akira an ice pop. “How are you feeling?” 

“Crummy.” Akira pushed his glasses up his nose before he took the ice pop. “Last week was the worst.” 

“Sorry I couldn’t help you. Dad wouldn’t let me near you.” Ren pouted pushing up his own fake glasses with his free hand. When Akira was told he needed to wear glasses but Ren didn’t, Ren insisted on getting a matching pair that were fake so he and Akira could still look the same. That was what he had told his parents, it was really because Akira admitted he felt like he looked dumb in glasses so Ren promised to wear them too so Akira would feel less selfconcious. “I really wanted to do something to help…” 

“There’s nothing you can do.” Akira put his ice pop in his mouth to let it sit there for a few seconds before he took it back out. “My life is over.” 

“No it’s not. Don’t be so dramatic.” Ren rolled his eyes softly. “Why are you saying stuff like that?” 

“You know why. After that sex ed class everyone talked about how omegas are the worst to deal with and can’t be friends with them.” Akira pulled his knees up to his chest. 

“No one has to know. It’s not like it’s their business.” Ren frowned. 

“They’ll figure it out when I have weeks I go missing, or when I go into heat at school.” Akira mumbled holding the ice pop out in front of him as he let it drip onto the ground. “I might as well just do what mom said and homeschool.” 

“What? No way. You can’t leave me at school alone.” Ren looked upset. “You’re gonna be taking suppressants and stuff so it’ll be fine! No one will know!”

“What happens if I miss a dose or something? I’ll get jumped by some alpha and then I’ll be forced to drop out anyway because I got pregnant. No thanks.” Akira stared lazily at the ice pop melting in his hand. 

“I won’t let anyone do that to you.” Ren tossed away what was left of his ice pop to turn to his brother. “I’ll protect you from anyone who thinks they can do that to you.” 

“You can’t always be there.” Akira shook his head. “If I’m around I’m just going to hold you back. You’re gonna be awesome. I’m just… just forget about me.” 

Ren continued to stare at Akira for a long time before he settled back to glance around as if he was going to get an idea from their half forestry surroundings. He was silent for a long time before he suddenly snapped his fingers and pointed at Akira, “I know what to do!”

“Ren I already said forget--” Akira started but Ren cut him off. 

“We can bond!” Ren announced suddenly. “That was part of the sex ed lesson right? An alpha, like me, bites an omega, like you, and bonds. With a bond you won’t go into heat so much and you don’t even smell to anyone else but me!” Ren pointed at himself with his thumb looking rather proud of his idea. 

“Ehhhh, that’s something couples do…” Akira leaned away from Ren. 

“No! I heard from Mia-chan that her mom’s brother is an omega and he bonded with someone so he could just live normal and stuff! People don’t even know he’s an omega until he’s like, asked or whatever.” Ren explained quickly. “We can do it too!” 

“Hmm… If we did then no one would know. You can put it low so no one would see it. But then you’d get affected by my scent...” Akira reached a hand back to touch the back of his neck where he was sure Ren would bite. It would be so easy to let him do that and then he could just be normal.

“Don’t you trust me?” Ren looked a mixture of hurt and disappointed when Akira finally looked over at him. 

“I do!” Akira quickly said as he dropped what was left of his ice pop to turn and put his hands on Ren’s shoulders. “It’s just a lot to deal with, and I’m supposed to be the older brother and take care of you!” 

“You’re older by like ten minutes!” Ren puffed his cheeks up in annoyance then relaxed his face again. “And you’ve always been taking care of me. Let me take care of you for once. Okay?” 

Akira gasped at that as he took his hands off of Ren to stare wide eyed at his brother. He couldn’t deny that he kind of wanted it. Ren was right, a bond would save him a lot of trouble and heartache. They were in a small country town, if Akira wasn’t careful everyone would know without him meaning to and then he’d basically be shunned. He didn’t want that. 

“Okay.” Akira quietly settled back down on his knees. 

“Okay?” Ren perked up. 

“I’ll--no-- will you bond with me?” Akira asked tentatively. 

“Of course I will.” Ren beamed then launched himself at Akira to hug him tightly knocking his brother onto his back. “I’m going to protect you okay, Akira?” Ren squeezed his twin tightly until Akira returned the hug. 

“Okay.” Akira turned his face into the nape of Ren’s neck to inhale deeply. Akira could faintly make out the scent of lemon and something else he couldn’t pin down. It was nice either way. Was this Ren’s alpha scent?

“Okay, sit up and I’ll put it on your neck.” Ren pulled himself off of Akira then helped his brother sit up. Once Akira was seated upright Ren moved behind him and tried to pull the back of his shirt down to figure out where to put the mark that would hide it best. “Maybe… here?” Ren questioned poking the space just to the base of his neck on his back left side. “I can smell something strong from here so I think that’s right.” 

“I think that’s right.” Akira nodded, tipping his head to the side to give Ren more room. “I trust you.” 

“I’d hope so!” Ren said with a giggle before pulling Akira’s shirt further over then lowering his mouth down. Akira felt the tiny hairs on the back of his neck stand on end when Ren’s lips brushed against his skin before the feel of teeth dragging down until finding the right spot to start to bite down on. It hurt at first and part of Akira wanted to slap him off and tell him to nevermind but after another force of pressure on the point the pain gave away to a feeling of pleasure. 

Maybe this was wrong after all. Ren was his brother. Sure this might have been some way to give Akira some peace of mind, but at the same time it felt like this was something he shouldn’t have been doing with Ren. This thought was abruptly thrown from his mind as Ren bit down harder again. Akira could feel Ren’s teeth break through his skin at last as his brother’s hands snaked around his middle, one hand moved along the side of Akira’s cheek to keep his neck exposed as the other just locked firmly around Akira’s chest to press him closer. Why did it feel so nice? It wasn’t necessarily pleasurable, it was something else? Comforting? That was it. Having Ren bond with him felt comforting. He felt safe. Feeling safe was good.

After what felt like an eternity, Ren finally released his hold on Akira’s neck only pausing to lick the abused skin in silent apology. “I’m sorry if it hurts.” Ren said letting his brother go at last.

“Only at first.” Akira pulled his shirt back up over the bite to hide it. “It felt… comforting after a second.” Akira turned toward Ren. “Thank you.” 

“You don’t gotta thank me. It’s the least I can do for you.” Ren flashed a toothy grin before he stood up. “Come on! Let’s go get that covered up before mom and dad see it then go play!” Ren offered a hand to Akira to help him stand. 

“Okay.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and here we are at the end of the first chapter. it's a soft chapter with some important information so people have that knowledge going forward into the fic now! I had a few people in my server ask me what A/B/O was so I thought detailing how I decided to use it and some other information about organizations might be useful. I plan to keep this fic to a once a week posting schedule give or take. I might want to shift it over to Friday updates but I really wanted to post this tonight! Thank you for spending your time reading this and I hope you enjoy more as I post it. Have a good night/day/afternoon.
> 
> preview: _‘Ren’s dead,’ Akira let that thought pass his mind which made him give an involuntary shiver. Trying to settle into a new life in Tokyo was Akira’s last chance, or so he told himself. If he couldn’t find meaning here, then was there a point at all?_


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akira, an omega with no home, turned to PILLOW for a new home and a chance at a normal life. Maruki meets him at the train station to take him to his new home, a hole-in-the-wall cafe run by Sojiro Sakura. Suddenly Akira's meeting his idol but he's not sure he's happy enough to keep going. He's just going through the motions, the scent of leather and citrus might help him though.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i said I wanted to update on fridays but the first chapter was really short so I wanted to just... post again. the next chapter won't be until the 18th this month. thanks so much for reading for those who have!

The sound of train wheels screeching to a halt bring Akira out of his dream of the past. He adjusts his glasses further up his face before looking around the train as people begin to empty out. Akira squeezed his bag closer to his chest as he waited until he was the last one on the train. With a tired sigh Akira stood then threw his bag over his shoulder before dragging a duffle down from the overhead compartment. With both of his bags on his shoulder Akira left the train to walk out onto the platform where he found that most of the passengers had already left. That was good. He wasn’t looking forward to being pressed up against a lot of people. 

Akira pulled his bags closer up on his shoulder then made his way toward the exit to get out to the front of the building. He was supposed to be meeting with someone but he didn’t know what they looked like. Akira’s gray eyes scanned the people around him before pausing on a man seemingly waving at him. 

Akira stared at this man for a minute then looked behind him to make sure there wasn’t someone else behind him that was the target of the man’s waving. With no one behind Akira to be mistaken with, he slowly raised a hand to wave back. The man motioned for Akira to come closer until he finally did. Once he was without ear shot the man spoke, “Kurusu-kun, I’ve been waiting for you. I’m sorry I couldn’t meet you on the platform but that security guard has been eyeing me for ten minutes so if I left my car I feel pretty sure he would have towed it.” the man with dark brown hair and glasses explained. 

“Um… who are you?” Akira asked.

“Oh! I’m sorry! I thought they would have sent you a photo. I’m Doctor Takuto Maruki. I’m in charge of your case with PILLOW.” Maruki explained extending a hand for Akira to take in a weak shake. “I’m here to take you to your new home. You got everything?”

“As much as I could carry.” Akira agreed. “Thank you for helping me.” Akira bowed his head. After graduating high school Akira’s parents decided they’d had enough of him and threw him out on the street. It wasn’t like they were ever home to start with but Akira supposed that the overhanging shadow of dealing with an omega in general was enough to make them hate him. 

“You don’t need to thank me Kurusu-kun. Come on, let’s get you in the car.” Maruki offered to take one of Akira’s bags so he let the man take his duffle bag before he went to put it in the trunk. “Are you hungry?” Maruki asked pausing outside of the car to look over the top to Akira. 

“No thank you.” Akira shook his head.

“Okay, well, I guess we’ll just head to your new home from here then.” Maruki motioned for Akira to get into the car as he sat down and buckled up. Once Akira was secure Maruki began the drive to the place Akira would be calling home for now. “So, Kurusu-kun, you’re nineteen?”

“Twenty.” Akira muttered.

“Twenty, my mistake. Your parents asked you to leave home when you graduated correct? How long have you been on your own exactly?” Maruki asked, glancing over at Akira now and again. 

“Two years.” Akira answered, keeping his eyes fixed on the dash in front of him. 

“It’s too bad that info on PILLOW didn’t reach you until last month. We could have helped you sooner.” Maruki clearled pitted Akira. He was so easy to pity. He hated it. “Well, no trouble here. You’ll be well taken care of going forward and you’ll have a fantastic support group. Did you read the information sent to you?” 

“Didn’t have time.” Akira admitted feeling sheepish now. He should have read it.

“That’s alright. I don’t mind explaining what’s going on.” Maruki stopped at the light. “So we’re going to be taking you to live with Sojiro Sakura. He’s been helping as a foster parent for PILLOW since we started. He recently finished renovating the attic of the cafe he owns to be a proper bedroom with a door. I saw it before coming to get you. It’s very nice! There’s nowhere in the cafe to shower thought. But there is a bathhouse across from the cafe.” 

“I’ll live in a cafe?” Akira finally looked at Maruki with worry all over his face. 

“I know what you’re probably thinking. Yes it’s a public space but it’s a slow little cafe. Aside from that I helped Sakura-san with the funds to scent proof the room so if you have issues with going into heat you’ll be safe. The door is also very sturdy.” Maruki explained. The light turned green once again and off they went. “Sakura-san himself is a beta and well tested that even the most intense omega phramons don’t bother him. He also has a daughter, Futaba. She’s a beta as well though I’m not sure you’ll see much of her. She doesn’t like meeting people very much.” 

“I see.” Akira turned his eyes back to his bag as he mumbled. 

“We thought about having you live in Sakura-san’s house but with the attic space he had we thought you might like a little more space and freedom. You’ll be alone at night and allowed to come and go as you please.” Maruki explained. “Sakura-san won’t expect you to pay rent. If anything he might ask you to help him at the shop now and again but other than that you’ll be free to do what you need.” 

“Free.” Akira ran his fingers along the zipper of his bag nervously. “So I just… live?” 

“Well, we put you in college,” Maruki explained, “by we I mean PILLOW. Right now it’s a general studies course but you can switch to a more focused study later.” Akira’s head snapped to Maruki once again with a look of complete surprise. This look seemed to amuse Maruki, “You’re wondering what I’m thinking putting an omega in college?” 

“Among other things.” Akira admitted. No one expected omega to have education higher than high school. Most of them were forced to just take odd jobs or hope to find a rich alpha or beta to care for them. At least that's what Akira had learned growing up. His small country town hadn’t exactly been kind when they learned what he was.

“It’s completely possible for you to do whatever you want to do. You’re not limited to your gender, Kurusu-kun.” Maruki smiled. “We’re going to give you the tools you need to do what you want to do with your life. You’re also welcome to any therapy you think you might need.” 

“Therapy?” Akira looked confused. 

“I won’t force it on you, but I’m a therapist as well as your caseworker. Anytime you want to talk I’ll be available. Day or night. It’s completely confidential and no judgement will be made. All I want to do is to help you Kurusu-kun. You’re safe with us.” 

The rest of the drive through the street of Tokyo gave Akira time to realize he was very far away from home. There were so many people everywhere and Akira was starting to worry he’d made a mistake. He was bonded but he was still worried about what could happen in a city like this. He started to long for his small town even if he was living in a shabby single bedroom he paid for with odd jobs. The only reason he’d been allowed to rent the room was because he was bonded.

Akira let a silent sigh pass through his nose before he leaned his head against the glass. When PILLOW had reached out to him Akira had thought it was a pipe dream. He’d never heard of it but when he looked it up it was real. He could leave the tiny room that was hardly bigger than a closet and live somewhere where he might have a chance at a better life. He had to try and now he was here.

Akira didn’t expect to find another partner. No one wanted a ‘used’ omega like him. Akira learned too late what it had meant to really bond with someone but he didn’t really regret it. The only one who had ever been on his side was Ren. He hadn’t needed anyone else. Then Ren vanished.

Remembering his missing brother always left a bitter feeling in the pit of his stomach and made his bonding mark ache. It had been over three years since Ren had gone missing. Their parents had tried to find him but the forest around where they grew up was notorious for making it impossible to find bodies.

‘ _Ren’s dead,’_ Akira let that thought pass his mind which made him give an involuntary shiver. Trying to settle into a new life in Tokyo was Akira’s last chance, or so he told himself. If he couldn’t find meaning here, then was there a point at all? 

━━━━━━━♟️━━━━━━━

“You’re late, Maruki.” An old man in a pink shirt and striped apron spoke from behind the counter of the cafe after Akira and Maruki came inside. Akira looked around the shop noting that it was small. A lot of things in Tokyo looked so large thus far but this cafe was just a hole in the wall and honestly, it was comforting. 

“Well, I think I’ll take my leave here then.” The single patron in the cafe said as he reached into his coat to take out some money. 

“Keep your money brat.” Sojiro waved him off. 

“If you keep giving me coffee for free you’re going to go out of business.” The young man teased. “I make plenty of money Boss. Let me pay for my drinks.” The man insisted putting cash on the counter before he bent down to pick up a silver briefcase. When he stood back up and turned toward Akira he couldn’t help but let out a soft gasp. 

Akira knew who this man was. He was Goro Akechi, Detective Prince, real life Sherlock Holms, the very detective who single handedly brought down a drug ring targeting omegas with dangerous ‘homemade’ suppressants. 

Akira couldn’t help but stare at the mean before him. He was literally right there in front of him. Should he say something? 

“You’re moving in here today right?” Akechi tipped his head to the side slightly as he questioned Akira. “I come to this cafe often. I imagine we’ll run into one another a lot.” Akechi stepped forward to offer a gloved hand to Akira. “My name is Goro Akechi. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” 

“I-I’m Akira.” Akira squeaked out, taking Akechi’s hand. In the back of his head he was laughing at himself for acting so shy. He wasn’t shy! “Kurusu! Akira Kurusu.” Akira explained his face flushing red as he realized he was definitely shaking Akechi’s hand for too long. “Nice to meet you.” Akira threw out then released his hand. 

“I’m guessing you’re a fan of mine aren’t you?” Akechi chuckled. 

“I-I am.” Akira admitted. In his mind Akira, or maybe it was better to call it Ren, absolutely howling in laughter at him. “I-I mean, I’ve seen you on TV. I couldn’t help but kind of admire how you exposed that drug ring targeting omegas.” 

“Ah, yes. That case comes up often.” Akechi smiled. Something about the way his lips curled made Akira felt like maybe he’d brought up a sore spot. Sure Akechi had saved a lot of people but there were still dozens of desperate omegas who had died from the shitty drugs that had been going around. 

“Sorry.” Akira ducked his head. He needed to lose this damn nervousness. “I mean, I think the one case with that pervy teacher. Kamoshida? Without you I think a lot of those kids at that school would have been in a lot of trouble.” Akira tried to keep his eyes on Akechi’s. He didn’t want to make an ass of himself. 

“That was… a very long time ago, most people don’t even know I was involved in that one.” Akechi looked amused. “Do you know chess, Kurusu-kun?” 

“You can come back and talk to him later, Akechi.” Sojiro cut in. “Let the kid get settled. Don’t you have a cat at home you have to feed or something?” 

“Morgana can feed himself.” Akechi shook his head. “Though he might get mad since I haven’t gone shopping lately. I guess you win this round, Boss. I’ll be going.” Akechi flashed another smile to Akira. “I’ll see you later Kurusu-kun.” 

“See you, Akechi-san.” Akira bowed his head slightly moving aside to let Akechi pass him. As Akechi moved past him Akira caught a familiar kind of scent which made him pause and stare long after Akechi had gone. “Orange and leather.” Akira muttered quietly. 

“Kurusu-kun?” Maruki’s voice broke through Akira’s thoughts to drag him back to reality. “Are you alright?” 

“Uh, yes!” Akira said a bit more loudly than he meant to. Akira’s brain started to piece together what had just happened before his face turned a bright red. He literally just made an idiot of himself while Maruki and Sojiro watched him. “Sorry.” 

“You don’t have to apologize. It’s good to have interest in other people.” Maruki chuckled at Akira with a warm smile. “You’ll see him again. For now let’s show you your room.” Maruki looked to Sojiro before the three of them made their way up the stairs to the attic. 

At the top of the stairs was a sturdy looking door. Akira watched as Sojiro took a key from his apron to unlock the door then push it open. Inside the room was simple but to Akira it felt like it was too much. A full sized bed sat in the farthest corner from the door with a nightstand next to it. Across from that was a desk with a closed silver laptop sitting on top. A comfortable looking love sat next to the desk and to the left of that was a small end table with a flatscreen TV and DVD player.

Once they entered the room proper Akira started to feel even worse about this being more than he deserved. There were a number of shelves against the wall, clear and ready for books and under that a fair sized dresser for his clothes as well as an oscillating fan and a heater for the winter months.

“So, this room is just for you.” Maruki motioned around. “Everything in here was paid for by PILLOW and yours to keep if you ever find that you’re comfortable living on your own.” 

“The bathroom is downstairs and the bathhouse across the way is pretty cheap.” Sojiro explained taking his glasses off to clean the lenses. “Maruki already set up a monthly allowance so you shouldn’t have trouble financially speaking. He’s already paid me too so don’t bother giving me any money. Just focus on living your life.” 

“How are you feeling Kurusu-kun?” Maruki asked after letting Akira look around the room. 

“I’m…” Akira trailed off then looked at the two men standing in the room with him, “I’m very grateful.” Akira bowed deeply. 

“You don’t have to do that.” Sojiro waved a hand. 

“I’m the one who should be thanking you for trusting PILLOW!” Maruki smiled. “You’re safe with us. Okay?” 

“Yeah. Okay.” Akira quietly agreed, not sure what else to say. 

“Alright. Well, I’ll let you get settled. Tomorrow morning I’ll come back to take you to your college to get started on your classes.” Maruki looked at Sojiro. “If you get hungry Sakura-san makes some very good curry and coffee.” 

“Thank you.” Akira moved to bow again but stopped himself halfway to moving his head. “I’ll unpack for now.” 

“No problem. Don’t feel obligated to eat. You can help yourself to anything in the fridge even after we’re closed.” Sojiro nodded toward the downstairs. “I’m gonna close shop up early so you can relax a little.” 

Did Akira come off as tense? That was possible. He felt stiff from trying to make himself take up as little space as possible on the train or in the car. “I appreciate that.” Akira said.

“Alright. I’ll walk you out Maruki.” Sojiro motioned for Maruki to follow him out of the room.

“I’ll see you tomorrow Kurusu-kun.” Maruki smiled at Akira before following Sojiro out of the room. 

“Oh before I forget,” Sojiro dug back into his pocket to offer a key to Akira. “This is to your door. There’s another hidden in an old coffee jar in the back of the kitchen if you lose it. Feel free to lock your door.” 

“Okay.” Akira nodded. With that Sojiro finally left and Akira found himself standing in a room easily five times the size of the last room he’d been living in. “Do I deserve this?” Akira questioned then dropped his bag on the bed. 

He ran a hand over the blanket to feel how soft it was before he frowned and withdrew his hand. This was all too nice. There had to be a catch. Someone was going to yell at him if he used this stuff. Akira moved his bag off of the bed to the dresser to start taking clothes out of the bag. Piece by piece he dug through things until he found what he was looking for. A pair of black sweats with a purple stripe along the legs and a gray tank top. 

Akira made sure the door was locked before he went to change into pajamas. He was hungry but not to the point that he would actually eat. More than anything Akira was tired. Akira felt like it had been days since he’d had any good sleep. Once Akira was changed he dug into his bag again until he pulled out a dark purple sweater within a closed, large, plastic sealed bag. He carefully opened an edge of the bag to catch the smell inside before closing it once again. 

The familiar scent of his bonded alpha did wonders to calm Akira almost instantly. It was the scent of citrus and leather that had belonged to Ren and a smell that always made Akira feel safe. Akira let a sigh pass his nose as he moved from the dresser to the loveseat and sat down, hugging the sealed sweater in his arms. “I miss you.” Akira muttered then let himself flop over to lay on the loveseat. 

More than three years ago Ren had gone missing and his disappearance had taken something of Akira with him. “I don’t know how much longer I can do this without you.” Akira squeezed the sweater close to his chest as he forced himself to take in a shuddering breath. All he had left of Ren were the clothes he’d taken when his parents told him to get out. Akira didn’t even grab his own clothes, just whatever he could grab of Ren’s. He knew then what he knew now, he needed something of Ren with him if he was going to survive. 

“I wonder how long your scent will last.” Akira turned to lay on his back and stare up at the ceiling of the bedroom while letting the sweater sit on his chest. When he realized Ren’s scent was vanishing off of his clothes with more time passing, Akira tried to do what he could to save a few pieces from losing it completely but now all he had left was this sweater. He wouldn’t dare say it out loud but he knew once Ren’s scent was gone from him he was going to have to make a choice. 

Akira was going to have to decide if he was okay to really live in a world without Ren or if he should just end it. No one wanted a bonded omega and Akira couldn’t stand that kind of loneliness. This wasn’t fair. It wasn’t fair when they were kids and it still wasn’t fair now. 

Akira felt his eyes start to burn at the same time his chest felt heavy. Ren was gone from him. He was alone in a strange city living in a cafe run by a strange man. It was more than he knew how to deal with. 

Akira turned once again to face the back of the sofa in an attempt to shut out the vastness of the bedroom he found himself in. It was still early but he was tired and at least in his dreams he often found that he was still with his brother.

━━━━━━━💎━━━━━━━

“Akiiiiii~” Ren’s voice called to Akira before he opened his eyes. He wasn’t in that attic room anymore. He was laying in a grassy field under a tree on a nice spring day. 

Living in the countryside had its number of downsides but Akira would never say the scenery was bad. Akira sat up to look over as a soaking wet Ren rushed up the hillside toward him. Suddenly, Akira knew what was going to happen and let out a squeal as he tried to get to his feet and run away. His bare feet slipped on the grass giving him no traction so by the time he finally got moving Ren was on him. He let out a laugh as he launched himself on Akira and wrapped arms around his middle.

Akira yelped as the water from Ren’s clothes transferred to Akira’s through his full body hug. The omega kicked his legs as he tried to get free but all it did was make Ren hold onto him tighter and cause the two of them to roll a little along the side of the hill. By the time they stopped the twins were both out of breath and Ren was laughing. 

“That’s not funny, Renren! I didn’t want to get wet!” Akira lightly smacked his brother with the back of his hand. “Now I’m all covered in grass too. Jerk.” 

“Aww, don’t be mad.” Ren kicked his legs up before he sat up to look at his brother. “I thought you just didn’t want to get wet because the bite might get infected or something.” Ren reached over to pull Akira’s collar away from his neck and check that the bandage was still in place after their roll down the hill. 

“I didn’t wanna get wet because I just didn’t want to!” Akira slapped his hand away before Ren could really get a look. “It doesn't have anything to do with the bite.” Akira stood up as he let out a sigh and started to pat himself down to get the grass off of him. “I’m sorry. I’ve been snappy lately and it’s not fair to you.” 

“It’s okay. I get it.” Ren looked up at his brother. “If anyone is going to understand you right now it’s going to be me! I’m your twin after all.” Ren flashed Akira a big smile. “Sorry I got you all wet.” 

“I’m alright. It’s just water. It dries.” Akira picked a piece of grass off of his shorts then looked over at Ren before dropping the blade on his face with a giggle. 

“Oh wow. That’s mean. I was going to get the grass off your back but I don’t think I will now!” Ren rubbed his face to get the grass off then stood. 

Akira picked at the grass some more as Ren started to walk down the hill back toward home. After a few seconds and while Ren was still within earshot Akira asked, “Did you hear Mika-chan’s family is moving because her older sister turned out to be a late presenting omega?” Ren stopped in his tracks to look up at Akira. “She said that her parents decided it was safer for her sister if they went somewhere with more omegas around like the city.” 

“I didn’t hear about that…” Ren looked away. 

“I know you liked her… I think she might have thought I was you. She wouldn’t let me get in a word edgewise to tell her I wasn’t you. I’m sorry.” Akira chewed his bottom lip. “She was just crying a lot and I gave her a hug before her dad came to take her home.” 

“It’s fine.” Ren shook his head. “I mean… It’s not like it’s a big deal. We’re still kids so it doesn’t matter she’s leaving. And I have to watch out for you. I can’t be worried about her.” Ren put his hands into his pockets. Akira couldn’t see his face well but he looked upset. 

“You don’t have to watch me.” Akira moved down to where Ren was standing to look at him. “You have people who you want to be around and stuff too. I’m okay. I’ve always been kind of a loner--” 

“Then what was that point?!” Ren turned his head as he snapped at Akira. “What did I bond you for?!” 

“I--I’m sorry.” Akira withdrew. Something about Ren’s scent made him very intimidating and honestly Akira wanted to run. 

Ren continued to glare for a few seconds before something seemed to come to him and he looked panicked, “Akira, no wait. I’m sorry--” Ren took his hands out of his pocket. “I shouldn’t have shouted at you. It’s not your fault--” 

“It’s fine, Ren.” Akira stepped away again. 

“No it’s not. I scared you.” Ren moved faster to close the gap between them. 

“I’m not--”

“I can smell it.” Ren wrapped his arms around Akira to hold him. He was still wet and covered in grass but Akira didn’t push him away. “I’m sorry I yelled at you. I don’t care about Mika-chan. I care about you. Okay?” Ren pulled away to hold Akira by the shoulders, “I love you.” 

“I love you too.” Akira managed to put on a weak smile before it grew more confident, “Even if you’re an _asshole_.”

“Whaaaaa- wow!” Ren threw his hands up. “You’re cussing now huh? When’d that start?”

“Today.” Akira looked rather smug. 

“Okay. I guess I gotta start now too. _Big brother_ out here being a terrible influence!” Ren teased. 

“I guess I am.” Akira shrugged then started to walk up the hill to get his shoes before he stopped. “Hey… do you think mom and dad will have us move too?” 

“I don’t know.” Ren admitted. “Maybe? I mean, Mika-chan’s parents are moving them so her sister can be safe right?” 

“Yeah.” Akira confirmed. 

“Well, if we do then that’s good. If not… well, I’ll watch your back. No one messes with my brother and gets away with it.” Ren pointed to himself with his thumb. “And you make sure I don’t get out of line.” 

“You mean like I already do?” Akira teased. 

“Shut up.” Ren rolled his eyes. “I just… I mean that as long as we’re together we’ll be alright. Even if you’re an omega. If anything, us being on either end of stuff is the best.” Ren ran back up the hill to beat Akira to his shoes then pointed out at what they could see of the town from here. “This shitty town doesn’t know what it has coming to it.”

“Dramatic.” Akira approached Ren with a laugh. “Just don’t get too crazy. Mom and dad will blame me.” 

“I think you just need to keep up, and if you can’t I’ll carry you.” Ren announced. 

“You know we’re still twins right? I can keep up with you easily.” Akira turned his nose up at Ren’s implication that Ren was going to suddenly have to be the bigger brother. 

“Oh yeah? Wanna race to prove that?” Ren watched Akira pull his socks and shoes back on. “Winner has to do dishes tonight?”

“Hmm, I’ll take that deal.” Akira stood up. “I’m still faster than you so I hope you’re ready for pruney fingers.” Akira knelt to ready himself to take off. 

“I think you mean that about yourself!” Ren dipped down to shove Akira to the side then took off down the hill once Akira fell over. 

“Cheater!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> my co-creator spent all night bullying me to post another chapter bc the first one was short and mostly info with a short flashback and she's right so here we are. I didn't detail it before but i have a legend for how line breaks work in this fic. So i'ma show them off for that info. 
> 
> ━━━━━━━💎━━━━━━━  
> (flashback break)  
> ━━━━━━━♟️━━━━━━━  
> (time skip break)
> 
> That prolly would have been more useful last chapter but meh. i don't have much more to say here so i'll pop on out now with a preview. i also have a discord if anyone's interested in joining in! thanks everyone!
> 
> preview: __  
> “Bonds?”
> 
> _“Like, a claim. Bites on omegas that bind them to another person.” Akira wanted to be clear on what he meant. “I was wondering if they could undo bonds to partners that someone either didn’t want or someone who's… dead.”_


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akira tries out college life. He's not sure about how he feels about it so far but Akechi shows up to give him a little help. After a tour of the school Akechi shows Akira his favorite club. The two have a conversation there before returning to Leblanc. Once he's 'home,' Akira discovers a grave mistake he made and now he has to figure out how he's going to live without it, if he can.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> boop

Knocking on his door woke Akira from his dream of better times. He let out a muffled sound before he rolled over which resulted in him falling off of the love seat and to the floor with a rough slam. 

“Kurusu-kun are you alright?” Maruki’s voice came through the door. 

“I’m okay!” Akira called back before searching around for a clock. It was already ten. How had he slept in so late? 

“When you’re ready we’ll head to campus.” Maruki explained before the sound of creaking steps told Akira he was going back downstairs. 

“Shit.” Akira got up quickly and started to change. He didn’t have time to get washed up. He was going to just have to go like this and catch a bath tonight.

He quickly threw on a pair of jeans and a white t-shirt before he pulled on a purple hoodie. He looked at himself once in the mirror. He looked like he just rolled out of bed, which was true, so he could accept that. Once he had his shoes on, Akira grabbed his overnight bag to turn it out on the bed to empty it of the clothes inside. He needed space for books or something instead. He pushed some clothes aside to grab a bottle of suppressants and another with birth control. He wasn’t planning on having any sex but he was cautious. 

Akira dry swallowed his pills then made his way out of the room only pausing to lock the door before he finally came downstairs. “I’m sorry I made you wait.” Akira announced looking at Maruki. 

“That’s alright. I didn’t exactly tell you when I’d pick you up so that was my mistake. Have you eaten?” Maruki looked over Akira as he asked. 

“Uh, no. I’m okay. I’m not hungry.” Akira lied. He had already forced Maruki to wait on him. 

“We can be late. You should eat.” Maruki looked at Sojiro as he moved behind the counter to make up a plate of curry for Akira to eat. “Go ahead.” 

“Uh, okay.” Akira looked at the plate before he sat down to try a little. As soon as the curry hit his tongue Akira fell in love with it. This was probably the best thing he’d ever eaten before, or he had just not had good food for a long time. Akira cleared the plate probably much faster than he should have but it would be worth the stomach ache later. “Thank you for the meal.” 

“If you enjoyed it that’s fine.” Sojiro took the plate to clean it. “Now go on. I’ll see you later tonight.” 

“Yes, thank you.” Akira stood up to bow then turned to Maruki. 

“Alright, let’s go.” Maruki led the pair of them out with a smile to head to his car and then to the campus. “Welcome to Tokyo U.” Maurki motioned around the campus at the students milling about between classes. “I have your schedule in my office so we’ll head there and you can also learn where to find me.” Maruki motioned for Akira to follow him. 

This was way too much for Akira to accept. Tokyo U was one of the most impressive schools in the country. He’d always had good grades but schools looked at genders and the second that horrible symbol showed on his paper he’d be rejected by every single school. How had Maruki got him into this school? 

“Here we are. You’re going to have to forgive my mess.” Maruki pushed the door open to his office and Akira had a feeling he shouldn’t go inside. Not because he didn’t belong or anything. No, from just looking inside the room looked _dangerous._ Towers of papers lined the walls with books, binders, and a few coffee mugs littering every single surface in view. “I’m between research studies so I’ve got some criss-cross going on here.” Maruki admitted. “I promise it’s safe!” As he promised a stack of papers in the room finally slid and fell over. “Okay maybe mostly safe. Let me just get the class schedule.” Maruki turned to his desk to start flipping through papers. 

“Um… Maruki-sensei, would you want help organizing this at some point?” Akira asked carefully, still not going into the room. “I’m good at cleaning.”

“Oh I should be fine!” Maruki pulled a paper out to look at it closely before putting it on another towering stack. “I know I had put it right on top… oh! Found it!” Maruki raised a hand with a paper. “Now where is the welcome packet?” Maruki started to shift through more papers as he mumbled. 

Akira let a silent sigh pass through his nose before he shuffled aside to lean against the wall and wait. What was the point of this anyway? Akira wasn’t going to get far here. Someone was going to find him out and then he’d have to quit anyway. 

Akira stared down at the floor as he tried to recall when he stopped believing he could do anything. He had been so proud of the fact that he wasn’t just some meek little omega scared of the world but maybe that was just because of Ren. Damn it. He hated being like this.

“Kurusu-kun?” A familiar voice called to Akira to draw him out of his thoughts. Akira looked over to realize Goro Akechi was right there in front of him. How long had he been there? “It is you, hello.” 

“Akechi-san!” Akira kicked off the wall to stand upright. “Do you attend this school too?” 

“I do.” Akechi confirmed. “I didn’t know you’d be here. I suppose Maruki-sensei is in his office?” 

“Yeah. He’s--” Akira flinched when the sound of something heavy falling met his ears and Maruki let out a sound of distress following it, “He’s looking for a welcome packet for me.” 

“You’ll be attending here?” Akechi asked, seeming to pointedly ignore Maruki’s distress. “What will you be taking?” 

“I don’t know. I was told I’ll be doing general studies.” Akira looked back toward the office wondering if he should help Maruki. He seemed to be struggling with something.

“I see,” Akechi tapped his chin before Maruki came back out of the office at long last, “Hello Maruki-sensei.”

“Ah! Akechi-kun, what wonderful timing, are you between classes right now?” Maruki asked. 

“I am.” Akechi answered. “What can I help with?” 

“It would be incredibly helpful if you could show Kurusu-kun around. I have… some cleaning to do.” Maruki glanced back nervously at his office. “It got away from me.” 

“I suppose I can help.” Akechi nodded before Maruki offered him a paper to look at. 

“Thank you so much. Kurusu-kun, this is your welcome package so make sure you go through that at home later. Think you can manage the train?” Maruki turned to Akira to pass him a thick envelope. 

“I can try?” Akira shrugged. He knew how to follow a map.

“Great!” Maruki grinned.

“Well, follow me Kurusu-kun, I’ll show you where your classes are.” Akechi motioned to be followed, leaving Maruki to figure out what he was going to do about cleaning up his fire hazard. “I take from context that you didn’t pick your own classes?” 

“No. PIL-- uh, Maruki-sensei picked for me. I was a late register.” Akira wasn’t sure he should admit that he was part of a PILLOW program. How many people knew what it was? Probably everyone if he was honest. No way Akechi didn’t know. “What are you studying, Akechi-san?” 

“Criminal justice and chemistry.” Akechi passed Akira the class schedule. “We have philosophy together.” Akechi smiled. 

“We do?” Akira looked at the paper to find the class in question. 

“It’s a hobby class of mine to fill out some credits.” Akechi explained. “I always found philosophy rather interesting. What about you?” 

“A little bit? I haven’t had a chance to really look into it. Life has been… hectic.” Akira reached up to play with his bangs nervously. “So, uh, you’ve been in university long?” Wow that was a stupid question.

“Going on three years.” Goro answered. “Is this your first year?” 

“Yeah… I had… a gap year… or two…. or three.” Akira admitted feeling rather stupid about admitting this. Why couldn’t he just keep his mouth shut? God he was stupid.

“It happens more and more often these days. Did you take time off for family?” Akechi asked and Akira felt his stomach bottom out. 

“W-what?” Akira asked stopping dead in his tracks. 

“Most of the time when people pause before university it’s because of family emergencies.” Akechi stopped to look at Akira. “It must be a sticky point for you. I’m sorry. The detective in me can’t help it.” He was just guessing, he had no idea. Of course he didn’t know.

“W-well you’re right.” Akira pushed his glasses up. Akechi didn’t need to know all the details. Akira just hoped he wouldn’t ask.

“I see.” Akechi smiled and then dropped the subject. Instead he started to talk about the school, what the buildings were, where the bathrooms were. The school was open today but there weren’t actually any classes until tomorrow as Maruki had led Akira to believe. That was comforting. The last thing Akira wanted to deal with was being the random new student a day or so after classes started. People would stare at him. 

“Any questions?” Akechi asked, gaining Akira’s attention. 

“Uh, no I think I should be okay.” Akira looked at his class schedule. 

“Okay, may I ask something?” Akechi watched waiting for Akira to nod for him to continue, “Would you be interested in having lunch together?”

“Uh,” Akira stared wide eyed at Akechi for a minute before Akechi called to him to get his attention. “Sorry! I would like to have lunch with you!” Akira answered, probably too quickly. 

“Alright then. Let’s go. I know a place.” Akechi motioned to be followed and Akira obeyed. Akechi took them from the campus to the train station and got onto a line heading to a place called Kichijoji. On their way over Akechi talked about the school again and the clubs in it and asked Akira about what his interests were.

By the time the train had stopped Akira felt much more at ease talking to Akechi. Was that his goal? If it was, that was fine. He had a similar scent to Ren but they couldn’t be further apart. Akechi was thoughtful with his words and confident in a regal kind of way. Ren was always the kind to just say what he wanted and was kind of brash but still kind. At least to Akira.

“So, now that you’re not stuttering every word, where are you from Kusuru-kun?” Akechi smiled. He seemed to know exactly what he was doing. Damn he was good. 

“Shimogo. It’s north of here.” Akira answered feeling okay enough to talk about personal life. “It’s pretty small but it’s the kind that tends to trap you in if you don’t hurry up and get out when you can.” Akira explained though he was pretty sure he was going to get kicked out if he hadn’t left on his own. 

“I can’t say I know of Shimogo. Geography isn’t my strongest suit. Maybe I should look into fixing that.” Akechi chuckled leading them down a side street before he stopped in front of a bricked wall with a sign over it reading **Jazz Jin** , “And here we are.”

“Jazz?” Akira asked, looking at the sign. 

“I’ve been coming here since I was in high school. It’s a very nice jazz club. They even serve mocktails for minors. Do you drink Kurusu-kun?” 

“No.” Akira answered. 

“Well, it’s the middle of the day anyway so drinking is generally frowned on.” Akechi said with a suggestion of amusement in his voice. “Let’s head in. There’s a few meals they have on the menu and the music is good here.” 

“Well, we’re already here so I can’t really tell you no now.” Akira laughed just before Akechi led them down stairs into the club. 

Once they got to the bottom of the steps Akechi paid for both of them then led Akira to a table near the stage to sit, “Not a lot of people know about the place so it’s not too busy and it’s a great place to listen to jazz and just think.”

“So, you mean to tell me Detective Akechi enjoys spending his time in jazz clubs? Doesn’t that fit into the trope of a detective a little too well?” Akira couldn’t help himself but tease. 

“I guess it does. It might be why I ended up here in the first place. Very intuitive of you Kurusu-kun.” Akechi touched his chin in thought. Akira was already counting the social points he was winning like this. “What would you like to eat?” 

“I’m not picky. I’ll trust your judgement.” Akira waved his hand. He really didn’t mind what he ate. The last few years had taught him not to be picky. 

“Alright then.” Akechi raised his hand before someone came over to take their orders. “So, Shimogo, being in a remote place makes me wonder if you know about anything going on in Tokyo.” Akechi leaned forward to rest his elbow on the table and his chin in his hand.

“Not really. I wasn’t in a position where watching or reading the news was an option. I only got a new smartphone very recently too.” Akira answered by taking his phone out to show it to Akechi. “Is there something I need to worry about?” 

“Not worry no. It just makes asking you what you think of the Phantom Thieves a bit more interesting. Do you know anything about them?” Akechi questioned. 

“I don’t think I’ve heard of them…” Akira looked thoughtful as he tried to piece literally anything about it together. “Is it a jazz band?” 

“It’s a group of vigilantes running around stealing people's hearts. So to speak.” Akechi sat back as he crossed his legs. 

“How do they change hearts?” Akira tipped his head to one side. 

“Well, from what I can gather of the instances that are real, they tend to target people who show signs of suicide or abusers. For example, for suicidal people they change that person's heart to realize that death isn’t the only option left to them. For abusers, they turn themselves into the police or at least remove themselves from the partners they’ve been abusing.” 

“So… they force people to change even if they don’t want to?” Akira asked slowly. 

“That’s right. What do you think given the information I’ve told you? Do you think they’re just or criminals?” Akechi’s eyes were on Akira as he watched the omega think. 

“Well, if they’re trying to save people from themselves or from abuse it’s good?” Akira wondered if this was the answer Akechi was hoping for. “But I wonder… could they do more if they tried? Like, forcing a criminal the police can’t touch to turn themselves in? Or maybe they could…” Akira trailed off as his mind went to wondering if the Thieves could do something about bonding marks. 

“Maybe they could do what?” Akechi repeated.

“N-nothing important.” Akira shook his head. The server returned with drinks and food so Akira was able to distract himself for a moment but Akechi wasn’t letting it drop as he asked again. With a heavy sigh Akira put his drink down and asked, “I wonder if they could do something about bonds.” 

“Bonds?” 

“Like, a claim. Bites on omegas that bind them to another person.” Akira wanted to be clear on what he meant. “I was wondering if they could undo bonds to partners that someone either didn’t want or someone who's… dead.” 

“I see.” Akechi pondered for a minute then spoke again, “When you put things like that I wonder as well. They’ve only targeted students or people around a few small areas. They don’t cause much trouble so people don’t try to seek them out. Honestly, I just think the idea of Phantom Thieves in my lifetime is a bit too on the nose to be real. However, when you ask those kinds of questions it makes me wonder as well. Could they do more than they are right now?” Akechi looked at his drink with a thoughtful expression. “You’ve given me some things to think about, Kurusu-kun.” 

“Well if I made up for my shameful introduction back at the cafe I’ll be glad to accept those words.” Akira reached up to play with his bangs. 

“Oh don’t worry about that. It happens more and more often these days.” Akechi waved a hand as he chuckled. It didn’t help Akira feel better about the cafe but it did make him feel like he’d made a friend. Which if he had ever been told before that his first friend in Tokyo was going to be his childhood celebrity crush he would have laughed. Ren had teased him relentlessly for years about his little crush on Akechi.

After they finished eating and listened to a local performer, Akechi offered to guide Akira back to Leblanc via the trains. Akira wasn’t so stupid as to not accept the help more so when it was now the height of the rush home. 

The two of them didn’t have much room to talk on the train and Akira wasn’t sure if he was glad for it or not. He was forced in a small space by the doors with Akechi in front of him doing his best to not let the two of them get crushed. There were only inches between them like this and being this close gave Akira plenty of time to pick out all the ways Akechi’s scent was similar to Ren’s but also how it was different. 

Akechi’s scent had more of a richness to it than Akira expected, kind of like a spice of some kind. Meanwhile, Ren’s always smelt like it was fresh and zingy, it had a way of waking Akira up and made him want to move around. Akechi on the other hand had a scent that made Akira feel comfortable just staying put. It was interesting because Akira had been told all his life that scents were completely unique yet here Akechi was. Well. Akira had to give credit where it was due. Akechi’s scent was similar but it wasn’t the same. That was probably a good thing.

“Sorry about this Kusuru-kun.” Akechi said drawing Akira out of his thoughts. “This is at least a good preview for busy trains otherwise.” 

“Yeah.” Akira turned his head to look around. There were so many people in the car. There was a strong chance he would have been freaking out right now if Akechi wasn’t with him to keep him calm. How the hell was he supposed to do this after today? 

Akira’s wondering was interrupted when someone in the train shouted about something and the entire crowd in the car shifted. Suddenly, Akechi was pressed up against him with literally no space between them. Akira shivered at the sensation of someone touching him even if it was unintentional. It wasn’t unwanted, but Akira didn’t know how to handle it. “Are you alright?” Akechi asked. 

“I’m okay.” It was kind of a lie. Akira would have been much worse off if Akechi wasn’t here that was for sure.

Once they reached the Yongen-Jaya stop the two of them stepped off and made their way toward Leblanc. “So the cafe is down that way. I’ll be heading this way from here. I have someone I have to go see before I head home for the night.” Akechi smiled. “Thank you for spending time with me today Kurusu-kun. Your insight has given me something to think about. Goodnight.” 

“Goodnight.” Akira bowed his head then Akechi left him. He stood there to watch as Akechi walked down the street then turned right and he was gone. Without anything else to do, Akira turned to head toward the cafe.

Rather than go inside right away though Akira poked into the building near it to look at the bathhouse. It was separated into a few baths, one of them being a single small bath and shower for just a single person. That worked out fine for Akira. He could get washed up in peace and no one would have to see his bond mark.

Once he was clean Akira put his clothes back on and returned to Leblanc. Sojiro was there to greet him, but he wasn’t alone. Akira’s eyes found their way to Akechi sitting at a table with a young girl with orange hair. 

“So we meet again. Sorry I keep intruding on you.” Akechi smiled at him. 

“You can blame me. I was hungry and Sojiro’s curry is the only thing that gets me going!” The girl exclaimed loudly. 

“You’re so loud.” Sojiro shook his head with a sigh. “That’s my daughter, Futaba. She’s a recovering shut in so please don’t mind her too much when you see her around.” 

“Wow _dad._ Way to intro me.” The girl rolled her eyes. “I’m Futaba.” 

“Akira Kurusu.” Akira bowed his head. 

“Nice to meet ya.” Futaba gave him a thumbs up. 

“Don’t mind me. You go ahead and do what you want.” Akechi waved his hand. Akira didn’t need to be told twice as he went to the stairs to head to his room. He was tired. The day had been long and he was far too introvertive to hang out with even more people today. Just the one was enough.

He’d just change into his pajamas and settle down for the night. He didn’t want to eat again. He had already eaten more than what he normally would consume in a day. Back home he couldn’t really afford to eat more than twice a day if that. Now that he didn’t have to worry about that, eating more than normal just made him feel heavy. He’d get used to it, maybe, but for now he was done eating today.

“Ren I’m home.” Akira muttered once he had the door shut. It was a silly habit he had but it made him feel better. Akira let out a sigh and dropped his bag on the table then shed his sweater and toed off his shoes. Once he was free of his shoes he made his way over to the sofa to look for the sealed bag of Ren’s remaining scented sweater. 

It was right there on the floor where he figured it would be after his rushed awakening this morning. Akira turned to sit on the couch to turn the bag and open it but as he turned it he realized it was already open. “Oh no.” Akira shot upright, alarm and worry taking him over as he tried to smell something from the bag. There was a fair scent but it was much, much less than what it should have been. 

“I fucked up.” Akira began to shake. “Ren…” Akira hugged the bag and the sweater inside close to his chest. He thought it would last longer. It should have lasted longer. He couldn’t lose Ren again. “M-maybe I missed something.” Akira closed the bag again and got to his feet to start trying to find something. He moved to his duffle bag and started to dig through it as fast as he could. He threw clothes everywhere before reaching the bottom and upon finding that there was nothing left that would have Ren’s scent on it Akira threw the bag to the floor where it thudded softly.

“No, no, no, no,” Akira repeated over and over again as he slowly sank to the floor hugging himself. He was going to have a full panic attack at this rate. Akira slowly pulled himself to his feet to move to the sofa and pull out the sweater. The scent left on it was minimal but it would have to do. 

Akira pressed his face into the fabric and inhaled deeply. The lingering scent of Ren was so far away now. It had faded away so fast. If he’d been more careful Ren would still be here. If he had come home sooner Ren wouldn’t vanish again. This was his fault for not being there when he should have been. 

Akira didn’t know how much time had passed since he laid on the couch clutching Ren’s sweater to his chest. He wasn’t even aware of time passing at all until there was an urgent knock at the door. Rather than answer, Akira pulled his legs closer to himself trying to make himself as small as possible. There was another knock before the door opened and someone came in. Akira had forgotten to lock the door.

“I’m sorry to let myself in but…” Akechi’s voice came and Akira squeezed his eyes shut,” I don’t want to pry but I can smell the distress from downstairs. Are you hurt?” 

Akira bit down on his lip to keep himself from saying anything as he could hear Akechi move closer to him. It wasn’t until he felt a hand on his shoulder that Akira reacted. With a sharp intake of air Akira bolted up to gather himself in a corner of the sofa and glare at Akechi. “Don’t touch me.” 

“I’m not going to hurt you.” Akechi showed his hands to Akira as he spoke slowly. “I just wanted to make sure you’re okay. If you want to talk I can listen.”

“I don’t need it!” Akira snapped but almost as soon as he spoke he caught Akechi’s scent. It was similar to Ren’s and Akira wondered if it would be a good replacement for now? It was horrible to think about using Akechi as a substitute but Akira wasn’t sure he was going to make it without it. “W-wait!” Akira reached forward to grab Akechi’s coat when he started to step away. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it. Please--please don’t leave me.” Akira was scared of what would happen if he was by himself now. 

“Okay.” Akechi removed Akira’s hand from his coat then slowly moved to sit next to him. Once Akechi was seated he watched Akira, maybe trying to figure out what to say. Akira didn’t wait for a word though. He couldn’t stop himself from moving closer to Akechi to press against him once again. Akechi said nothing as he moved an arm to let Akira get closer to him. 

To Akira that was basically permission to crawl into Akechi’s lap and just press his face into his chest. It wasn’t Ren, it would never be Ren, but Akechi was here and willing to hold him. How long had it been since Akira had been held? He was so touched starved that he didn’t feel the normal embarrassment he would have felt for crawling into a strangers lap. Akira just hoped that this wouldn’t scare Akechi away from him.

Akira’s mind was so focused on the comfort he was feeling from being in Akechi’s lap that he barely registered when his arms looped around Akira to press him closer. At that moment Akira broke down and began to cry as he had last night. He pulled his legs close to make himself small in Akechi’s lap as he carefully moved his arms around his neck and then sobbed into his shoulder. It was quiet at first, but after a minute without Akechi pushing him away Akira began to cry harder and louder. 

He wasn’t sure how much time passed but the next time Akira was conscious of himself he was just limply holding onto Akechi. He was exhausted now, but he felt better. He felt so much better than he had felt in years.

“Can I move you?” Akechi asked after a few more minutes of just sitting there. Akira just nodded and honestly expected Akechi to shove him off to the side but that wasn’t the case. Akechi moved his arms again, this time he put one under Akira’s legs and the other tightly around his shoulders before he moved to stand and lift Akira with him. Akira leaned his head against Akechi’s shoulder and just let the alpha carry him to the bed and set him down. 

Akechi said nothing as he moved the blankets around to cover Akira then sat on the edge of the bed. “Are you feeling better?” 

“Some.” Akira answered honestly, “I’m sorry I snapped at you.” Akira looked up at Akechi. “I… I’m sorry I just… crawled on you.” Akira chewed on his bottom lip.

“You don’t have to apologize. If I didn’t want you to do it I would have stopped you.” Akechi shook his head. “Can I ask what happened?” 

“His scent is… gone.” Akira answered, squeezing a bundle of blankets to him, “He’s gone now and it won’t come back again. I don’t have anything left of him… No one else wants me either so… what’s the point now?”

Akechi fell silent. He was probably trying to figure out what to say or maybe if he should just leave. Akira wouldn’t blame him if he just left. At least if Akechi left then Akira could cry in peace again for a little while. 

“My mother didn’t have a mate either.” Akechi said after minutes passed. “From the way you talk I assume yours was someone you wanted. She… didn’t have a choice.” Akechi seemed to be keeping himself busy by inspecting the blanket. “She never found comfort in another person, and like you, she felt unwanted. She told me she only kept going as long as she did for my sake. Once I presented she sent me away and killed herself.” 

Akira stared at Akechi over the blankets. He didn’t know what to say to Akechi to help him feel better or anything. Maybe it was fine that he didn’t know. Akechi was trying to comfort him here, right? 

“You’re not worthless because you don’t have your partner. You have worth. If anything you’re even stronger now than without him.” Akechi looked down at Akira. “You’ve lasted this long, right? I’m sure you can make it longer if you put one foot in front of the other and try to walk on your own.” 

“My own…” Akira mumbled the phrase. Could he do that?

“I know we’ve only just met, but I would like to get to know you more.” Akechi said as Akira looked up at him. “So would you be opposed to seeing one another more going forward?” Akechi asked and Akira couldn’t help the flush that covered his face. Rather than answer, Akira hid most of his face into the blankets. Would he really be allowed to do this?

Akira kept his gray eyes on Akechi for a long time before he managed to get brave enough to lift his face to talk. “I would like that.”

“Good.” Akechi smiled softly. 

“I’m sorry about crawling on you still.” Akira repeated. “It’s just that you… Your scents are similar. Yours is more orangey than his was. It’s nice.” Akira was so tired now. He couldn’t help but let his eyes close.

“I see.” Akechi said brushing Akira’s bangs aside to remove his glasses. “In that case…” Akira could feel Akechi pull away from him to start doing something. He cracked an eye open to watch Akechi pull off his coat then sweater vest before he placed it near Akira’s hands, “I’ll leave this here. It’s not the same, but if it helps I don’t mind.”

Akira stared at the sweater for a few moments before he reached out to grab it and pull it close to him. “Thank you.” Akira hugged the vest close to him then said, “I don’t know what I did to deserve your kindness but I appreciate it.” 

“It’s not about being deserving or not. I just did this because I can. That’s all.” Akechi pulled his coat back on. “You should get some sleep. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow.” Akira repeated as he closed his eyes again. He just had to wait until tomorrow and he would see Akechi again.

━━━━━━━💎━━━━━━━

Akira was never fond of storms, especially ones with tons of lightning and thunder. It was even worse when the storms knocked out the power leaving Akira sitting in the dark, scared that the lightning was going to hit the house. Tonight was one of those stormy nights. 

It had been raining all day but now the thunder picked up and the power went out. It normally wouldn’t be a problem because he’d sit around and hang out with Ren but they’d already gone to bed. There was no way he was going to get any sleep like this. All he could do was curl up under his covers and cry. 

Akira had no idea what time it was when he heard his door open. A new type of fear gripped him when he heard someone come into his room. After a few seconds of just shaking under his covers Akira heard a voice.

“Akira are you okay?” It was Ren. Akira could have started crying if he wasn’t already.

“No.” Akira admitted slowly pulling the blanket off of his head to look at his brother. 

“I thought so.” Ren started to pull at Akira’s blankets so he could climb into bed with his brother.

“How?” Akira looked confused but let Ren in. 

“I could smell it. It’s through the whole house. Mom and dad just can’t smell it because they’re betas.” Ren pulled the blankets around them once he was settled. “You don’t need to be scared anymore okay? I’m here.” Ren shifted closer to his twin to pull Akira close and hold him. 

“Yeah.” Akira sniffled and shifted closer to his brother holding onto him before he buried his nose into Ren’s neck. He let out a content sigh once he was comfortable pressed up against Ren. “Do I really smell?” 

“I mean… yeah? Everyone’s got a scent. Well, most people do.” Ren pressed his nose into Akira’s hair. “You have a good scent. Like… coffee and… uh, that smell right before the rain comes.” 

“Coffee?” Akira looked annoyed. “Coffee is gross.” 

“I like the smell of it.” Ren shrugged letting a comfortable silence fall between them until the rumble of thunder made Akira whine and press closer. In an attempt to make Akira feel more at ease Ren kept talking, “What do I smell like?” 

“Lemons.” Akira answered quietly, “And something else I’m not sure about. It’s not something I’m familiar with. I should try to figure it out. It’s a nice smell though.” 

“Wow, you could sound a little more excited about the lemon!” Ren sounded offended but he didn’t move away. Instead he just squeezed Akira closer. 

“It’s not my fault that lemon isn’t really an exciting scent!” Akira raised his hands between the two of them to push at Ren’s chest to get some space between them but once another crash of thunder sounded outside he was right back against Ren’s chest.

Ren made soothing noises as he gave Akira a pat on the back of the head. “You’re safe. I’m here.” Ren repeated a few times until Akira relaxed again, “And I’m not really mad. It’s okay. One of us can have the interesting scent. Some people might think you smell mature with that scent.” 

“Mature… I guess that’s alright.” Akira tapped his bottom lip in thought. “I don’t know if I can call myself mature if I’m still getting scared of a storm like this though.” 

“If anyone makes fun of you for it I’ll fight them.” Ren promised. 

“You say that but won’t the adults just slap you with the ‘aggressive alpha’ sticker and expect you to be a delinquent or something?” Akira raised an eyebrow as he looked at his brother expectantly. “You won’t find a partner like that.”

“Ehhh, I don’t need another partner. I’ve got you right?” Ren flashed a cheesy grin to Akira making his brother blush.

“G-got me?” Akira asked but before he could get an answer a loud crash of thunder actually rocked the house causing him to let out a yelp. Fear gripped him once again as he tightened his hold on Ren. “Renren.” He muttered into Ren’s neck trying to find something to assuage the fear. He found what he was looking for in Ren’s scent. Something about the scent of lemon and whatever else made Akira start to relax even as more thunder rocked the house.

“Shhh, you’re okay, Akira. I’ve got you. Nothing's gonna hurt you so long as I’m right here.” Ren ran his hand along Akira’s spine. “You don’t have to do anything. I’ll protect you. Just breathe.” Ren repeated a few times trying to lull Akira to sleep.

It was working too. Between Ren’s touches and his scent, Akira was finally starting to relax. He still tensed up every now and again when another crack of thunder outside sounded through the house, but Ren continued to comfort him until the storm passed and they both fell asleep in each other's arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posting schedules are dumb and I'll never follow one because I have no self control. With that out of my system...
> 
> There's a lot of questions I'm sure that people might have. I would explain them but there's going to be answers in the next chapter. I did write this fic with alternating perspectives from Akira's pov and Akechi's pov so that's were you'll get some answers next. Akechi pov chapters probably won't be as fequant as Akira's will be. His are really in places where there would be too much gap of context without Akira seeing things too. Thank you for reading!
> 
> preview:  
>  _“I won’t! I promise!” Morgana laid down on the table then put his face down against it. “I swear it on my honor as a Phantom Thief that I will only use my powers of the internet and legible writing for good and not to attack strangers online for making disgusting comments about Ann.”_
> 
> _Goro stared at Morgana for a minute then let out a sigh and went back to opening the bento. “Fine. I’ll set it up after dinner.” Once the lid was off of Morgana’s box Goro opened his own then began to eat and watch the news. “I met an interesting person today.”_


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Goro Akechi is an alpha born to a single omega mother in the middle of Tokyo. He had plenty of friends, lots of love, and even though they were poor he had everything he needed, until one day, Goro's mother sent him away. A few years later he finds that he has an amazing power he can use to influence people's cognition. Before Goro can use this power for revenged against his absent father, his father dies. With his one life goal gone, Goro finds himself as leader of a group called 'The Phantom Thieves' and together they focus on changing the hearts of those who think they have no choices left in life. Goro was having a regular day in Leblanc when PILLOW co-founder Takuto Maruki walks in with a new omega, Akira Kurusu. There's a sadness in his eyes that Goro is all too familiar with and his scent has a familiar smell to it. Is this a new target for the Phantom Thieves?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it friday!

A soft gasp was the first that drew Goro’s attention to a mop of messy black hair and silver eyes behind glasses. Goro could admit this boy looked cute in a sort of lost kitten way. He looked like he was lost in his thoughts. It was a look Goro saw on a few faces when he first met people who actually knew who he was. Normally Goro would have gracefully brushed this guy off but a look behind him at Takuto Maruki told Goro this guy’s life story before he could even get a word out. 

There was no doubt that this boy in front of him was an omega. If he wasn’t Goro would take a bite out of his briefcase. Maruki worked with poor omegas in bad situations. From the way this one looked it might have been pretty bad. He was underweight for what he should have been, his clothes did not fit him at all. He was a bit on the pale side too. Maybe an abuse thing with a controlling alpha? Could have also been parents trying to hide their ‘disgraceful’ child. Monsters.

“You’re moving in here today, right?” Goro asked, letting his head fall to the side a little as he asked. The less intense he came off right now the better probably. The last thing Goro wanted to do was freak out a skittish omega. “I come to this cafe often. I imagine we’ll run into one another a lot.” Goro stepped closer and carefully offered his hand to the omega. As long as he knew he’d be around he probably wouldn’t get too surprised, “My name is Goro Akechi. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“I-I’m Akira!” The omega squeaked out quickly then took the offered hand. Well, it was probably a good thing that his fanning was overwriting any fears he might have had. “Kurusu! Akira Kurusu.” He trailed off a little shaking Goro’s hand for probably longer than he meant to as his face turned an impressive red color. “Nice to meet you too.” Kurusu added before letting go of Goro’s hand at last. 

“I’m guessing you’re a fan of mine aren’t you?” Goro asked with a chuckle. Stay friendly, Akechi.

“I-I am.” Kurusu stuttered. “I-I mean, I’ve seen you on TV. I couldn’t help but kind of admire how you exposed that drug ring targeting omegas.” Ah, that case. The one everyone brought up when they thought to talk to him in passing.

“Ah yes. That case comes up often.” Goro forced one of his best fake smiles. If he could just get past this he could go on with his day. It made sense Kurusu would admire him for breaking up a drug trade involving omegas but it was still such an over hyped case. If people had given more of a shit about any of the omegas who were affected by that case it would have been solved sooner.

“Sorry.” Kurusu turned his eyes downward. Why? Did he realize Goro hated when that case was brought up? Insightful. “I mean, I think the one case with that pervy teacher, Kamoshida? Without you I think a lot of those kinds at that school would have been in a lot of trouble.” Kurusu dug back into the deepest pits of time to pull that one up. Getting rid of Kamoshida had been one of his proudest moments, for a number of reasons. 

“That was… a very long time ago. Most people don’t even know I was involved in that one.” Goro was starting to like this one a little. He had the insight to realize he brought up a boring topic then dove right in for another. He wasn’t shy at least. “Do you know chess, Kurusu-kun?” 

“You can come back and talk to him later, Akechi.” Sojiro cut in before Kurusu could answer. Grumpy old man. “Let the kid get settled. Don’t you have a cat at home you have to feed or something?” ‘Cat’ was a strong word to use for Morgana. 

“Morgana can feed himself.” Goro resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He did need to leave regardless but he was enjoying talking to Kurusu. “Though he might get mad since I haven’t gone stopping lately. I guess you win this round, Boss. I’ll be going.” Goro smiled at Kurusu. “I’ll see you later Kurusu-kun.” 

“See you, Akechi-san.” Kurusu said before getting out of his way so he could leave. On passing Goro almost paused to inspect it more but he already agreed to leave and stopping to smell someone was rude. Once Goro was outside he paused to look inside through the window and mutter, “Petrichor and espresso… I haven’t smelt petrichor since... ” Old memories were starting to come back to him but rather than let them come Goro shook his head. 

There was no time to worry about that. He had other things he needed to do. Like shopping. He really wasn’t sure there was much food left back at home now that he thought about it. After heading into the general vicinity of home Goro stopped to pick up some groceries then continued the rest of the way home. 

“I’m home.” Goro called opening the door to his apartment. He pushed in a box with his foot as his hands were busy with groceries and his briefcase. “Did you get Ann to order you something again?

“It’s here! And good! You brought food!” Someone else in the apartment shouted shortly before a small black and white cat with a yellow collar rushed up to meet Goro. The cat only looked at him once then turned his attention to the box to start trying to pull it along.

“You can thank, Boss. I almost forgot. Move.” Goro gently pushed the cat over with his foot so he could move the box as he walked and also get inside then close the door and lock it. What did you convince her to buy you?” Goro asked as he walked to the kitchen to start putting food away. 

“A special keyboard that I can use so I can talk in the chat!” Morgana announced proudly pawing at the box. “I just need help setting it up.” 

“I don’t know if I want you having that kind of power. You’re liable to spend all day telling Ann’s internet fans to fuck off.” Goro paused looking over the fridge door and down at the cat as he continued to try and open the box. 

“I won’t! Please Goro?” Morgana turned away from the box to look up at the detective with sad eyes. 

“You know that doesn’t work on me right? Use that trick on some other sap.” Goro rolled his eyes then finished putting away food only leaving out two bentos for dinner. “I got you a fish box.”

“Thanks!” Morgana stood to move out of Goro’s way as he took the boxes out of the kitchen to set them on the coffee table in front of the TV to turn it on. 

“You know, I can look for more cases with a functional keyboard~” Morgana jumped on the table just as Goro stated to open his bento up. 

“Futaba does enough for that for us.” Goro paused in his task to look at Morgana. “I’m not setting up a keyboard for you to attack people online with.” 

“I won’t! I promise!” Morgana laid down on the table then put his face down against it. “I swear it on my honor as a Phantom Thief that I will only use my powers of the internet and legible writing for good and not to attack strangers online for making disgusting comments about Ann.” 

Goro stared at Morgana for a minute then let out a sigh and went back to opening the bento. “Fine. I’ll set it up after dinner.” Once the lid was off of Morgana’s box Goro opened his own then began to eat and watch the news. “I met an interesting person today.” 

“Are you going to tell me about a dead body again?” Morgana paused eating to look worriedly at Goro. 

“No. I mean a living person.” Goro turned over some of his food as he thought. “He smelt of petrichor.” 

“Of what now?” Morgana asked. 

“It’s the smell of freshly wet dirt that carries through the air before rain. Well, you don’t smell it much here in the city but in the country you can.” Goro explained. “You’ve probably never had the chance have you?”

“No.” Morgana confirmed. “Maybe if someone would take me out of town when he does consulting work I might!” 

“You know I can’t do that. If you wanted more freedom you should have stayed with Futaba.” Goro went back to eating. 

“She still barely leaves her room! Besides, I gotta make sure the leader of the Phantom Thieves doesn’t get himself into trouble.” Morgana pointed a paw at Goro. 

“Ah yes, you keep an eye on me by being stuck in my apartment all day with nothing to do but watch TV and play on your laptop.” Goro teased.

“It’s not my fault! I’d go out but you live so high up and I can't reach the door much less the elevator button to go down and explore!” Morgana looked sad. “At this pace I’m just a body in a fight.” 

“Hey, you’re not. Maybe you should try staying with Futaba a little while. Being able to go outside when you want might make you less stir crazy.” Goro reached over to give Morgana a few pets as he spoke. “You’ve been cooped up in here too long.”

“You’re probably right.” Morgana leaned into Goro’s touch. “We need a new person, or a Mementos trip, or something.” 

“Maybe next week. College is starting this week and I have to at least be there for the first week of classes.” Goro explained as he turned back to eat. “Maybe Futaba or Ann will find someone new.” 

━━━━━━━♟️━━━━━━━

“Mona I’m going.” Goro called across the apartment. “I’m going to stop by and see Futaba after classes so I’ll be late getting back. Can you manage to eat on your own?” 

“Yeah.” A sleepy reply came. 

“Okay, see you tonight.” Goro pulled on his coat then set off to head to the campus. The train ride was as cramped as always but it was fine. Goro had a good book to read and managed to nab a seat. Once he arrived on campus he only made it a few steps before someone was calling his name. “Good morning Ann.” 

“Mornin’ Goro~” A tall woman in a single ponytail returned the greeting. “Start of a new year, are you excited?” 

“Define excited.” Goro shook his head before plastering on a kind smile to wave at someone who called his name. The wave to some random group of people made them excitedly scream before half of them fell over. “I’m just going to be here long enough to set up advance testing and avoid more of _that_.” Goro couldn’t stand the screaming fans. They were so fucking loud and annoying. 

“Yeah well, you’re the one who decided to go hard on the detective celebrity thing even though Mona told you not to.” Ann shrugged. “Did my package come by the way?” 

“You mean the massive keyboard with keys large enough for Mona to step on one at a time so he can type cohesively?” Goro tried to sound as dry as possible as he spoke. 

“Oh good it came! He was telling me how much he wanted to be able to actually talk to us when we text and junk so I looked for a solution. I had to get that custom ordered. You better have set it up for him.” Ann poked Goro in the side until he batted her hand away.

“I did, stop poking me.” Goro let out a sigh once she stopped. “Have you been to Leblanc since last night?” 

“No. I have a shoot today or I’d be heading there today. Why?” Ann questioned. 

“There’s an omega there now. Remember when the cafe closed to put a wall and door upstairs? Turns out Maruki wasn’t renovating Sojiro’s storage room for fun. He’s got one of his PILLOW wards living up there now.” Goro explained before he stopped to turn to Ann. “Until he gets settled we should look at some other place to meet up. Can I count on you to find a place?” 

“You’re worried about freaking the guy out with too many alphas in one building?” Ann looked thoughtful. “I’ll see what I can find. I guess for now we just have text meetings? Mona’s going to go out of his mind.” 

“I know. I’m probably taking him to Futaba’s tomorrow so he can have something to do before he starts to get fat sitting around my apartment all day.” Goro checked his watch. “I have a meeting with a professor about hybrid modification so I’m going to go. I’ll talk to you later.”

“See yaaa~” Ann waved.

━━━━━━━♟️━━━━━━━

After the meeting with his professor about working out a hybrid class for him so he could do his work Goro was trying to figure out what he should do now. The other professor he was supposed to meet with wasn’t available because of an emergency so now Goro had time to kill.

If he went to see Futaba now she’d still be asleep, and there was no way he was going to waste his time going home only to have to turn around and leave again. 

Goro was starting to piece together that he could get lunch first when he spotted someone unexpected, “Kurusu-kun?” Goro called as he stepped closer, earning the omega’s attention, “It is you, hello.” 

“Akechi-san!” Kurusu basically jumped to stand upright. He’d been thinking about something and from the sounds of it Maruki was trying to find something in his fire hazard called an office. “Do you attend this school too?” 

“I do.” Goro confirmed before he wondered if it would be a good idea for Kurusu to be here. That thought came as fast as it went as Goro came to the simple conclusion that he was probably a bonded omega. That was the only logical reason why Maruki would allow him to attempt college. “I didn’t know you’d be here. I suppose Maruki-sensei is in his office?” 

“Yeah. He’s--” Kurusu flinched at the sounds of heavy boxes and papers falling over. Maruki sounded distressed about the mess but Goro could care less. It was his fault it was like that. He needed to clean it up. Goro waited for Akira to continue, “He’s looking for a welcome packet for me.” 

“You’ll be attending here?” Goro questioned, trying to seem surprised and doing his best to ignore Maruki’s sounds of distress. “What will you be taking?” 

“I don’t know. I was told I’ll be doing general studies.” Kurusu answered. General studies wasn’t a bad start but it was clearly something Maruki came up with to give the omega choices after.

“I see.” Goro tapped his chin thoughtfully. This could be good for the omega, but also the team. If Kurusu was able to walk around without freaking out at random alphas they could continue meeting up at Leblanc after all. “Hello Maruki-sense.” Goro looked up when Maruki came out of his fire hazard. 

“Ah! Akechi-kun, what wonderful timing, are you between classes right now?” Maruki asked and Akechi was ready to tell him he had tomorrow confused with today again but decided against it. 

“I am. What can I help with?” Goro asked though he was sure he already knew the answer to that.

“It would be incredibly helpful if you could show Kurusu-kun around. I have… some cleaning to do.” Maruki looked nervously at his office. Goro had doubts that the man could get anything done. He was probably just going to restack things. Idiot. “It got away from me.” 

“I suppose I can help.” Goro answered. He wasn’t doing anything else for a few hours anyway, and it was probably safer to get Kurusu away from the death office. 

Maruki moved to him to offer a paper for Goro to look at. From what he could tell it was a class list. Goro was reading through the classes and mentally comparing them to his own finding that they did have one class together. That was interesting, but it was an elective Goro had put off to get harder classes done first. Goro’s attention was brought back to Maruki when he asked about the trains.

“I can try?” Akira answered with a shrug. He was going to get lost if Goro left him to his own devices. 

“Great!” Maruki seemed pleased with the answer and Goro resisted the urge to roll his eyes again. 

“Well, follow me Kurusu-kun, I’ll show you where your classes are.” Goro needed to get Kurusu away from Maruki before the stupid rubbed off on him. How the hell was Maruki a therapist at this school? “I take from context that you didn’t pick your own classes?”

“No. PIL--uh, Maruki-sensei picked for me. I was a late register.” Kurusu was trying to hide that he was part of PILLOW. He must be from some middle of nowhere town where it was looked down on you join PILLOW. “What are you studying, Akechi-san?” 

“Criminal justice and chemistry.” Goro answered looking at Kurusu’s class list one more time before he passed it back to him with a smile, “We do have philosophy together.” Maybe it was strange but he was glad to have a class with this omega. It will be easier to keep an eye on him. He was a strong candidate for their next target if half of what Goro thought was true was fact.

“We do?” Kurusu asked. 

“It’s a hobby class of mine to fill out some credits.” Goro explained. “I always found philosophy rather interesting. What about you?” 

“A little bit?” Kurusu answered. He was probably saying it so he could be close to Goro. That was fine Goro wanted him close for now. “I haven’t had a chance to really look into it. Life has been… hectic.” Goro watched Kurusu out of the corner of his eye as the omega reached up to play with his bangs. Nervous tick maybe? “So, uh, you’ve been in university long?” 

“Going on three years.” Goro answered. He wondered if he could get some more information out of Kurusu with the right questions. He seemed trusting still. There was no way he wasn’t from a small town. “Is this your first year?” 

“Yeah… I had… a gap year… or two… or three.” Kurusu looked like he was feeling pretty embarrassed right now. Maybe he realized Goro was digging for information.

“It happens more and more often these days. Did you take off for family?” Goro asked, hoping to make Kurusu relax a little. 

“W-what?” Kurusu looked like he wanted to bolt now as he stopped walking. Maybe Goro hit a nerve? Did he have a kid?

“Most of the time when people pause before university it’s because of family emergencies.” Goro stopped to face Kurusu as he explained. “It must be a sticky point for you. I’m sorry. The detective in me can’t help it.” Goro needed to get this omega to calm down again. If he started to panic here he might bolt and run somewhere bad for him.

“W-well you’re right.” Kurusu adjusted his glasses to sit properly on his face again. Good, he wasn’t going to run. Too bad Goro would have to change topics though. He needed to get Kurusu to be more comfortable with him first. 

“I see.” Goro smiled. For now he would just do as he was asked to do and lead Kurusu around the school. Kurusu showed honest interest in what Goro had to show him of the school. He didn’t seem at all overwhelmed at all which would be beneficial to him in the end. If he got intimidated by the school he’d have things much worse with a train. 

By the time lunch came around Goro had finished showing Kurusu around he was hungry. He could have left Kurusu here but that stupid tug to do right had him ask the omega if he wanted to get lunch together. It would do two things, feed Kurusu, but also show him the state of trains in Tokyo.

It wasn’t too bad at the time so heading over to Kochijoji wouldn’t be too harsh a test. Goro watched Akira closely waiting to see if he got at all nervous or uncomfortable with the number of people around him in such a small space. He wasn’t panicking but maybe that was because Goro just kept talking, “I often find myself spending free time in Kichijoji. It’s got quite a few things there that hold some interests for me.” 

“Oh?” Kurusu sounded interested so Goro couldn’t help but just continue. 

“There’s a few bars, the night scene isn’t terrible, it’s no Shinjuku but it’s good enough. One of the bars has darts and billiards available to play. There’s also a rather well stocked arcade tucked away in the back areas.” Goro started to explain as he mentally checked off stores and popular places in the prefecture. 

“It sounds like such a huge area.” Kurusu looked a little dizzy at the thought of it. 

“On the contrary, it’s much smaller than Shibuya. It just has a lot put into one place.” Goro explained. 

“Tokyo is huge though.” Kurusu frowned. 

“It is, but that’s still packed with millions of people.” Goro shrugged, “Now that you’re not stuttering every word, where are you from Kurusu-kun?” Goro decided to ask. A lot of small ass towns really undersold the size of Tokyo.

“Shimogo. It’s north of here.” Kurusu explained. “It’s pretty small but it’s the kind that tends to trap you in if you don’t hurry up and get out when you can.” That information was interesting. Maybe Kurusu had reached out to PILLOW so that he might have a shot at some adventure for he ended up bonded to some alpha he didn’t even like. This was the fun part of detective work, he had information but he needed to put it in the right order to get the real story. 

“I can’t say I know of Shimogo. Geography isn’t my strongest suit. Maybe I should look into fixing that.” Goro chuckled then led them off of the train. He needed to look into getting a better grasp on maps but wherever the hell Shimogo was Goro was sure he was probably in bumfuck nowhere. 

“And here we are.” Goro motioned to the bricked wall and tiny corridor that head down into the Jazz Jin. After a short exchange of jazz and drinking Goro took them into the hole-in-the-wall to pay for them and sit. “Not a lot of people know about the place so it’s not too busy and it’s a great place to listen to jazz and just think.”

“So, you mean to tell me Detective Akechi enjoys spending his time in jazz clubs?” Doesn’t that fit into the trope of a detective a little too well?” Kurusu asked. Goro had to laugh at that. It was true. He was feeding more into his social persona than he meant to but it just happened to work out like that. It wasn’t like he was trying to wear a mask here too. 

“I guess it does. It might be why I ended up here in the first place.” Goro could have laughed at himself if he was watching from the outside. He was really going easy on this omega. “Very intuitive of you Kurusu-kun.” Goro touched his chin to look thoughtful. He was playing nice but there was some kind of charm to the look on Kurusu’s face when he thought he gave Goro something to think about. Goro wasn’t immune to physical attractiveness, Kurusu was cute.

After ordering food and a bit more small talk Goro decided he wanted to know about something else, “So, Shimogo, being in a remote place makes me wonder if you know about anything going on in Tokyo.” Goro shifted to rest his elbow on the table and prop his chin up on his palm. 

“Not really. I wasn’t in a position where watching or reading the news was an option.” Kurusu explained. He was very good at keeping Goro on his toes with information about what his life was like before he came to Tokyo. That wording had Goro back to thinking he was abused. “I only got a new smartphone very recently too. Is there something I need to worry about?” Kurusu asked as he took his phone out to show it to Goro. 

“Not worry, no. It just makes asking you what you think of the Phantom Thieves a bit more interesting. Do you know anything about them?” Goro decided to go forward with his question anyway. 

“I don’t think I’ve heard of them…” Kurusu looked like he was struggling to grasp what it might be, “Is it a jazz band?” Goro couldn’t help the curl his lips did as he beat down a laugh with a nail bat. 

“It’s a group of vigilantes running around stealing people’s hearts. So to speak.” Goro explained before he could laugh after all. 

“How do they change hearts?” Kurusu tipped his head to one side as he asked and Goro was able to distract himself from his internal struggle not to laugh to watch this omega in front of him acting cute. 

“Well, from what I can gather of the instances that are real, they tend to target people who show signs of suicide or abusers.” Goro wanted to word this in a way that maybe would get Kurusu to spill some more about his past, “For example, for suicidal people they change that person's heart to realize that death isn’t the only option left to them. For abusers, they turn themselves into the police or at least remove themselves from the partners they’ve been abusing.” 

“So… they force people to change even if they don’t want to?” Kurusu asked carefully. He wasn’t stupid at least. He probably realized how morally questionable it was to change someone’s heart.

“That’s right. What do you think given the information I’ve told you? Do you think they’re just or criminals?” Goro watched Kurusu carefully as he started to think.

“Well, if they’re trying to save people from themselves or from abuse it’s good? But I wonder… could they do more if they tried? Like, forcing a criminal the police can’t touch to turn themselves in?” Goro raised an eyebrow at that suggestion of forcing more interesting criminals to confess. It wasn’t like Goro hadn’t thought about it, but they were a small group and at the time they’d started they were still in high school. Still, maybe a change of pace would do them good? “Or maybe they could…” Kurusu trailed off and now Goro was invested in what this omega thought.

“Maybe they could do what?” Goro repeated.

“N-nothing important.” Kurusu tried to dismiss the idea but Goro wasn’t going to let it go. He fell silent to let the server set their food and drinks. Once the server was gone Goro repeated his inquiry. It was with a heavy sigh Kurusu put his drink down and continued at last, “I wonder if they could do something about bonds.” 

“Bonds?” The cogs were really spinning in Goro’s head now as he was pretty sure Kurusu was bonded.

“Like, a claim. Bites on omegas that bind them to another person.” Yes, no shit Kusuru, get to the point. “I was wondering if they could undo bonds to partners that someone either didn’t want or someone who's… dead.” 

“I see.” Goro paused after as he let the last word sink in. The way he’d said the last word left Goro with a specific suspicion. Kurusu might not have been in an abusive relationship; rather, he might have a dead mate. With that thought at the front of his mind Goro actually felt bad now. “When you put things like that I wonder as well. They’ve only targeted students or people around a few small areas. They don’t cause much trouble so people don’t try to seek them out. Honestly, I just think the idea of Phantom Thieves in my lifetime is a bit too on the nose to be real.” Goro was really trying to buy time to try and come up with something meaningful to say, “However, when you ask those kinds of questions it makes me wonder as well. Could they do more than they are right now?” Goro looked at his drink so he wouldn’t have to look at Kurusu. “You’ve given me some things to think about, Kurusu-kun.” 

“Well if I made up for my shameful introduction back at the cafe I’ll be glad to accept those words.” Kurusu played with his bangs, that was definitely a nervous tick, as he looked away shyly. 

“Oh don’t worry about that.” Goro really was more interested in Kurusu now. With a dead mate he really could be a target, “It happens more and more often these days.” Goro waved a hand as he chuckled. He’d need to talk to the others later. He could start with Futaba tonight. 

Once they were done eating and watched a performance Goro thought he should show Kurusu the way home. Goro didn’t have to convince Kurusu to let him walk him home, he seemed all for it. As annoying as it was when Kurusu got into his ‘fan’ moods he was still alright to talk to. He could deal with this much. 

The train to Leblanc was much more crowded than the train to Kichijoji. Schools were letting out so students were flocking to go home and it made for an interesting ride. Goro ended up basically boxing Kurusu into a corner to keep him separate from others so he wouldn’t freak out. He kept himself as a steady wall between Kurusu until a shift in the train caused him to press into the omega.

Now that Goro was pressed against him he was fully able to analyze Kurusu’s scent. Petrichor and espresso was the only thing Goro could smell. The earthy scent mixing with the espresso was not something Goro expected he would like but it gave a unique smell that he couldn’t help but enjoy. 

“Are you alright?” Goro asked, trying to keep himself grounded even though he could feel Kurusu shiver under his touch. Shit. The voice at the back of Goro’s mind was reminding him that it was likely that this omega’s partner was dead and up for grabs. It was making his protective nature spike.

“I’m okay.” Kurusu answered but Goro wasn’t so sure he was telling the truth. For the rest of the trip Goro was basically stuck against Kurusu though neither of them seemed to mind. Why did this have to happen like this? Well, if Kurusu was responding this well to being trapped in a corner by an alpha he’d probably be alright.

Once they reached Yongen-Jaya Goro was finally able to dislodge himself from Kurusu and get some much needed fresh air. Not that Kurusu’s scent was bad, but it was so strong. Did he not know what scent blockers were? Maybe they didn’t use them in the country, or Kurusu’s scent was just so strong it completely came out like that.

Pushing those thoughts from his mind Goro led Akira to the backstreets then pointed toward Leblanc. “So the cafe is down that way. I’ll be heading this way from here. I have someone I have to go see before I head home for the night.” Goro offered a smile. “Thank you for spending time with me today Kurusu-kun. Your insight has given me something to think about. Goodnight.” 

“Goodnight.” Kurusu returned with a bow before Goro left. He only glanced back at him once as he turned the corner that would take him to the Sakura house. He was still standing there watching Goro leave. Interesting. 

Goro turned his attention back to making his way to the Sakura house but rather than ring the bell to be allowed in he took out a key and let himself inside. Once he was in the front landing he called out, “Futaba I’m here.” He wasn’t sure Futaba heard him or not but he did his due diligence.

Goro made his way upstairs to Futaba’s room to knock once, twince, then a double tap before he opened the door to head inside. As normal, Futaba's room was a mess. Papers and books all over with cords all over the place. How was she alive? 

“You said you were going to at least take out your garbage.” Goro sighed in annoyance as he closed the door behind him. Futaba sat in her chair cross legged as she played a game on one screen while another ran some kind of program and others ran through a cracking software to probably ruin some other large company. 

“I was gunna do it after this game!” Futaba claimed as she twisted her body to act like the movement would help her dodge an attack on screen. “OH COME ON I WAS TOTALLY OUT OF THAT AOE. BULLSHIT!”

“Are you dead?” Goro asked flatly watching the screen display golden words “duty failed” in large font. 

“Yeah… fuck.” Futaba sighed watching as he screen loaded back into a wintery looking land with a small character standing in front of a character covered in shimmery lines. “What’s up bro?” 

“Obligatory checking in on you and your fire hazard.” Goro shoved a book aside. “You still have that camera in Leblanc?” 

“Yeah. Why?” Futaba logged out of her game. 

“Do you know about the person living in the attic?” Goro asked as he bent over to pick up a few papers to try and organize them. 

“Wait what?” Futaba turned back to her computer to bring up the camera and look at the footage. 

“It’s an omega Maruki brought in.” Goro put the papers down on her desk just as she brought up the section where Kurusu showed up at the cafe. “From what I gather he’s part of PILLOW, might have a dead bonded mate. Can you look into him?” Goro asked, trying to ignore Futaba snickering. “Why are you laughing?” 

“He’s a total SIMP for you. Look at him. That’s amazing.” Futaba laughed a little more before letting out a sigh. “Anyway, yeah I can run a search. Give me his name.” Futaba brought up a new window. 

“Akira Kurusu. He’s from Shimogo.” Goro answered leaning on her desk a little to watch her work. 

“Shimogo, where the fuck…?” Futaba paused her typing to bring up a map and look up the town. Well, when she finally got the information up it was more like a village. “Holy shit that’s like… still living back when the Shinsengumi were running shit. Damn.” Futaba shook her head then continued looking up information. “Annnnnd, nothing?” 

“Nothing?” Goro leaned closer. 

“It could be because the place he’s from is so fucking middle of no where they don’t keep any digital data, or it could have been wiped from the net like Shido was, but like, there’s nothing on this guy.” Futaba began to explain but Goro’s expression darkened at the mention of Shido.

“So there’s nothing usable to find out if he’s got a dead partner?” Goro drew back looking annoyed. “We need information.” 

“I’m pretty sure if you asked him he’d just tell you.” Futaba shrugged sitting back in her chair until he reclined back. “Unless you’re trying to be sneaky?” 

“Trying.” Goro looked passive about what he was admitting to. “I just want to know. PILLOW omegas are usually from shit situations and I want to make sure he’s going to be alright. He’s kind of living in Boss’ attic.” 

“Valid.” Futaba ummed scratching under her chin. “Well, I can do a few things. We could plant a camera in his room,” Futaba suggested but when she was met with a glare from Goro she carried on, “Could also just be a mic?” Again Goro disagreed with that idea, “Okay nothing in his room. You could talk to him.” 

“I did.” Goro rolled his eyes. 

“Talk to him again? Listen, short of going to Asaji… Asashi… A. SA. HI. You’re going to have to just try and get info out of him. I’m not going. Mona can’t, I don’t think Ann can get the free time and Ryuji is kind of in Kyoto because you told him to get his knee fixed and shit. So we’re short on able manpower.” Futaba listed off the party with her fingers before lowering her hand. “So, mic, camera, or stalk him.” 

“I’m not stalking him.” Goro looked annoyed as he weighed his options. “Let’s… try a mic.” 

“I can do that.” Futaba moved from her chair to crawl on her bed and dig through a drawer. “Okay, just gotta stick this in his room and we’re gold.” Futaba returned to Goro. “I’m hungry so let’s go.” 

“You really need to eat more than instant noodles and curry.” Goro sighed following Futaba out of her room to head to Leblanc. 

“Why?” Futaba questioned but she knew why. Little shit. 

Once they got to Leblanc they both greeted Sojiro then sat in a booth. “Is Kurusu-kun in his room?” Goro decided to ask. 

“Nah, I saw him duck into the bathhouse.” Sojiro answered before coming around the counter to give Goro coffee and Futaba curry. “He didn’t have time this morning and I don’t think he did anything last night.”

“I wanna see him!” Futaba tried to hide her excitement but she was doing a bad job at it. It was just hard to tell if it was because she was excited to see her mom’s work to good use or if it was because she was excited to put a bug in his room. “Oh I gotta pee first. BRB.” Futaba left but rather than actually go into the bathroom Goro watched her open and close the door then sneak upstairs. 

A minute or so passed before she returned with an annoyed look on her face. Was she not able to place the mic? Once again she opened and closed the door then returned to her seat. After a few bites of curry she spoke, “It’s locked up tight. I don’t know about you but my lockpicking skills are shit.” 

“I don’t have the tools on me.” Goro admitted. “Mona wanted to practice since he said it’s harder to do with paws.” 

“Welp, gunna have to try and slide into that room somehow bro.” Futaba looked over her glasses with a smirk then continued to eat. After a half an hour or so Kurusu finally returned to the cafe. He seemed fine still but clearly tired. The mic was going to be hard to place. 

“So we meet again. Sorry I keep intruding on you.” Goro offered a smile to Kurusu.

“You can blame me. I was hungry and Sojiro’s curry is the only thing that gets me going!” Futaba practically shouted.

“You’re so loud.” Sojiro shook his head with a sigh. “That’s my daughter, Futaba. She’s a recovering shut in so please don’t mind her too much when you see her around.” 

“Wow _dad._ Way to intro me.” Futaba rolled her eyes but waved at Kurusu. “I’m Futaba.” Kurusu returned the greeting with his own name before Futaba gave him a thumbs up. There was a moment where Kurusu looked nervous. He probably didn’t want to spend more time with people today. 

“Don’t mind me. You go ahead and do what you want.” Goro smiled trying to give Kurusu a free pass to leave which he took quickly without saying anything else. He really wanted to be alone. “Now what…” 

“Yeah, you were supposed to slide into those DMs.” Futaba rolled her eyes. 

“I’m not going to do that.” Goro stared at her with an annoyed expression. 

“Well,” Futaba made sure that Sojiro wasn’t listening before she continued, “You could try to get up there and talk to him now.” 

“He looked like he was tired. He’s probably not used to that many people.” Goro looked at his coffee. “I’ll think of something else.” 

“Sure you will.” Futaba sat back to look at her phone and play around with it. After another half hour Goro decided it was probably time to leave. He went to take money out for Sojiro once again but before he could get it out Sojiro spoke up. 

“Rather than pay for your coffee how about you do me a favor?” Sojiro said, “Watch the shop for maybe an hour or so while I get some groceries?” 

“Huhhh, you can just close up you know?” Futaba said, annoyed. 

“I wasn’t asking you, and I have a package coming soon. If someone doesn’t sign for it I have to wait until Tuesday to get it. So if you can wait for the package for me I’ll call it even on your bill.” Sojiro suggested. 

“I can do that.” Goro sat back in his seat. If he had his lockpick it would have been perfect. Maybe he could lure Kurusu out with dinner then sneak upstairs?

“Great, let’s go Futaba. I’ll need your help.” Sojiro motioned for his daughter to get up and follow him out. 

“Whyyyy?” Futaba dragged out but still got up to follow him. 

“Because I got a guy upstairs who probably wants to eat more than curry.” Sojiro explained just before the door closed once he and Futaba were outside. 

So now Goro was sitting in the cafe alone with options. “Wait…” Goro’s expression soured before he looked back toward the door. “She forgot to leave me the mic.” Goro looked back toward the front then to the point where he knew Futaba’s camera was at to slowly raise a middle finger up toward it with an entirely stoic face. 

Seconds bled into minutes before the courier Sojiro was expecting came with the package. Once Goro signed for it he let the courier leave before turning the sign to closed then stepping back inside to move the box. He was setting the box on the counter in the kitchen when Goro caught a strong scent. A scent of distress. 

Instincts flared to life as Goro left the box to head up the stairs toward Kurusu’s room. He tried to knock calmly at first, before he started to knock harder and with more urgency. He called to Kurusu but there was no reply and being at his door just brought more attention to the fact that Kurusu was panicking about _something._

“Fuck this.” Goro muttered to himself then opened the door to go in. “I’m sorry I let myself in but…” Goro trailed off as the scent running through the room made him feel like he needed to do something to protect this omega but there was nothing in sight that was harming him. “I don’t want to pry but I can smell the distress from downstairs. Are you hurt?” 

Kurusu was curled up on the loveseat hugging something to his face with what was probably enough force to push his glasses painfully into his face. Something had scared this omega. Goro tried to repeat himself but when he realized his question was going to just fall on deaf ears he moved closer to Kurusu to touch him. 

The moment Goro’s hand touched Kurusu he jumped up to put distance between them and glared at him from the corner of the sofa, “Don’t touch me.” He didn’t shout but the tone he used was rather impressive. Goro was almost tempted to just leave but the scent was too much for him to ignore.

“I’m not going to hurt you.” Goro shoved his hands to Kurusu and spoke with an even tone. “I just wanted to make sure you’re okay. If you want to talk I can listen.” Goro offered. Maybe he could help him calm down with his own scent? If they couldn’t get a mic in the room he could do what Futaba suggested and talk to him. He just didn’t expect this kind of opportunity to present itself so soon. 

“I don’t need it!” Kurusu snapped and Goro stepped back before he made him mad. Or he thought that at least. As soon as he tried to give Kurusu space the omega grabbed onto his coat to pull him back again. “W-wait!” Kurusu sounded desperate now. Something was really making this omega freak out and Goro just wished he knew what so he had a goal. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it. Please--please don’t leave me.” Kurusu begged. 

Looking down at Kurusu made Goro’s chest tighten oddly. It wasn’t like he had strong affections for this person in front of him but the familiar scent of petrichor made his stomach twist uncomfortably. If he left Kurusu would be by himself and there was no telling what might happen then. 

“Okay.” Goro carefully removed Kurusu’s hands from his coat to take a seat on the sofa. In a second Kurusu pressed up against him. Was the desperation to be comforted that strong that Kurusu was going to just take any alpha nearby or maybe he just felt that comfortable with Goro? Omegas weren’t all so weak that they just cling to anyone. Goro was fully aware of how strong they actually were given his own mother and the things she had to do. 

Without thinking twice Goro moved to give Kurusu a better space to fit against but he took it further than expected. Goro was caught by surprise when the omega climbed into his lap to press his face into Goro’s chest. He looked down at the mess of black hair against him and wondered what had happened in his past to make him like this.

Whatever the case was, Goro was in a position to help and was going to. He carefully put his arms around Kurusu to give him a light squeeze to test the waters. When he didn’t freak out Goro held him tighter as the omega began to sob. It was quiet at first, but then he began to shake and struggle to breathe between the sobs. Goro didn’t know Kurusu well, for all he knew this was normal of the omega.

An hour passed before Kurusu finally stopped crying and just sat limp in Goro’s arms. He wondered if Sojiro found his briefcase still downstairs or if he was too busy to notice. Maybe he just grabbed his box and left? There was also a chance Sojiro knew exactly where Goro was but trusted him with Kurusu. This was a mess. 

Goro glanced down at Kurusu to see the omegas face was visible and he just looked hollow and exhausted. He probably needed sleep. Goro looked toward the bed then spoke with an even and kind tone, “Can I move you?” 

When Kurusu nodded Goro picked him up in a princess carry to put him onto his bed and even go as far to tuck him in, “Are you feeling better?” Goro asked after sitting on the edge of the bed. He didn’t want to leave him too fast. He might panic again.

“Some.” Kurusu said mostly into the blankets, “I’m sorry I snapped at you. I… I’m sorry I just… crawled on you.” He looked like he was really regretting it now.

“You don’t have to apologize. If I didn’t want you to do it I would have stopped you.” Goro said but he wasn’t sure he would have been able to if he had tried. Kurusu had been so distressed that his scent had made Goro’s protective instincts flare up. It was probably good there was no one else in the cafe when the scent hit him or he might have hit someone else. “Can I ask what happened?” So he could maybe make sure it didn’t happen again.

“His scent is… gone.” Kurusu answered by shifting to pull the blankets closer to him. Goro glanced back toward the sofa where the sweater Kurusu had been hugging tight had been discarded. “He’s gone now and it won’t come back again. I don’t have anything left of him… No one else wants me either so… what’s the point?” Kurusu continued and Goro’s eyes snapped back to him. 

This was familiar. An omega curled up under the covers crying because they were alone. The context was different but it was similar enough that Goro could understand Kurusu. He wasn’t sure if he could comfort him right, but Goro had to try. “My mother didn’t have a mate either. From the way you talk I assume yours was someone you wanted. She… didn’t have a choice.” Goro squeezed his hand into a tight fist as he remembered how often he found his mother crying alone in her room. “She never found comfort in another person, and like you, she felt unwanted. She told me she only kept going as long as she did for my sake. Once I presented she sent me away and killed herself.” 

Goro had never felt sadder than the day his mother sent him away. Goro hadn’t understood at the time but as he got older it made sense. She was probably scared that Goro would turn out like the one who bonded her then left. Goro understood but he wished he hadn’t. He might have been able to save her if he’d stayed. He could have protected her.

“You’re not worthless because you don’t have your partner. You have worth. If anything you’re even stronger now than without him.” Goro looked down at Kurusu trying to convince him of his worth. If he could get Kurusu to stand on his own then maybe he’d be alright. At least for long enough that the Phantom Thieves could help him properly. “You’ve lasted this long, right? I’m sure you can make it longer if you put one foot in front of the other and try to walk on your own.” 

“My own…” Kurusu repeated. Was Goro getting through to him?

“I know we’ve only just met, but I would like to get to know you more. So would you be opposed to seeing one another more going forward?” Goro wanted to do his best to keep this omega who smelt of petrichor alive. Not only did some of his situation remind Goro of his mother, but he was also living above the cafe. Goro felt like he had an obligation to keep Kurusu going.

“I would like that.” Kurusu answered after a long time.

“Good.” Goro smiled. It wasn’t at all fake or forced. He genuinely wanted to protect him.

“I’m sorry about crawling on you still. It’s just that you… Your scents are similar. Yours is more orangey than his was. It’s nice.” Kurusu explained and Goro froze. The last time someone had a reaction to his scent it wasn’t a good thing. It was the thing that had separated him from his mother, but here Kurusu was saying he found it comforting. It left him conflicted. He was able to draw why Kurusu was so eager to climb onto him. Goro was a significant source of comfort for him even if it wasn’t the same. It was almost laughable. 

“I see.” Goro stamped down the desire to laugh and instead brushed Kurusu’s bangs out of his face. If Goro’s scent was familiar enough to calm him down then maybe he could do something more, “In that case…” Goro trailed off before he stood and removed his coat. He rested it on the bed before pulling his sweater vest off over his head to then give it to Kurusu, “I’ll leave this here. It’s not the same, but if it helps I don’t mind.”

“Thank you.” Kurusu said after hesitating a moment, “I don’t know what I did to deserve your kindness but I appreciate it.” 

“It’s not about being deserving or not. I just did this because I can. That’s all.” Goro pulled his coat back on. “You should get some sleep. I’ll see you tomorrow.” He needed to get more information on Kurusu and since Futaba hadn’t left him that mic to plant he had another idea.

“Tomorrow.” Kurusu repeated before his eyes finally shut. Goro waited a moment until he could see the even rise and fall of his breathing then leaned closer to inspect Kurusu. It was definitely wrong to do so but he was looking for a bond just to confirm everything. Once he found the mark Goro tucked Kurusu in then sat back on the edge of the bed to stare at him. 

They had only just met and Goro was putting so much effort into trying to help this omega. Was it because he was living in Leblanc or was it because of being a Phantom Thief? Goro thought of his reasons before he came to one conclusion, it was his scent. The scent of petrichor that reminded Goro of his mother who’d had such a shit life and Goro had been unable to help her at the time. Now that he was older he was in a perfect position to help this omega instead. He could be the hero he wished he could have been for his mother.

━━━━━━━💎━━━━━━━

It was a brisk fall day with Goro outside playing with the neighborhood kids. A few months ago he’d gotten the news back that he was an alpha. He didn’t really care about that stuff and this new knowledge didn’t change much about how people saw him. At least most people. There was a noticeable shift in how his mother treated him. 

Before he presented his mother was rather doting. She worked so hard to give him things he wanted and always picked him up from school. It was embarrassing at thirteen but he couldn’t get her to stop. However, the night after Goro presented he was sneaking to the kitchen to get water after having gone to bed. Before he could reach the kitchen he heard his mother talking on the phone and she sounded like she was crying. He couldn’t make out much but he heard one phrase that made his heartsink, “I’m scared of my own son now.”

The weeks following that Goro did his best to be as careful and nice to his mother as possible. However, things still changed, a lot. She spent more and more time at work and less time in the same room as Goro. His mother stopped picking him up from school, and if she needed to tell him something she would text him instead of talk to him. 

It was starting to wear on Goro now and he needed to make it change somehow. He tried to get his thoughts in order by going out for a walk around the block. He needed to promise his mother he’d never hurt her. He’d have to admit to knowing she was scared of him. The question was how to do that without making her too upset. 

“Gorooooo!” Someone called from a nearby playground. Goro looked over to spot a little girl with blonde hair and twintails running toward him. “Hey! You wanna play?” 

“I can’t today Ann. I gotta go home after I figure out something.” Goro shoved his hands into his pockets. 

“Whatcha figuring out?” Ann asked but Goro wasn’t sure he wanted to tell her. “You can tell me anything. I promise to keep it a secret!” 

“I guess…” Goro kicked a rock over then met Ann’s eyes. “So you know I’m alpha right?” Goro paused to wait for Ann to confirm it before he continued, “Well, I heard my mom say she’s scared of me now? Like, of alphas I guess? She’s been avoiding me and stuff.”

“Oh. I didn’t know…” Ann looked at him with a pitied look. “You want to talk to her about what to do to, like, fix it? Or something?”

“Yeah, I just don’t know where to start.” Goro sighed. “Like, admitting I was snooping on her phone call is mean. I just want to know why she’s scared of me…” 

“Maybe because your dad?” Ann wondered which caught Goro off guard. He’d never thought about where his father was or rather he never cared. His mom had only mentioned once that his father was a coward and they didn’t need him and that was good enough for Goro. 

“My dad…?” Goro frowned. 

“Yeah, like, your mom has always been alone and stuff right? But my mom said your mom is an omega and being alone as an omega with a kid is weird.” Ann started to explain as she brushed a hand through her hair trying to explain. She looked like she was starting to regret bringing this up but she knew that Goro would want her to finish her thought. “When I asked my mom about it he told me that if an omega doesn’t have a mate then it could be that they died or… uh…” 

“Just say it Ann. The ‘um-uh’ is starting to piss me off.” Goro couldn’t help the glare he leveled at his friend. 

“That your mom was forced during like a heat or something.” Ann blurted out quickly. “So if you think about it that way, maybe your dad was an alpha and they forced themself on your mom and marked her then just left.” 

Goro looked at the ground as he thought about what Ann said. She had a point. If his mother had been forced into sex because of a heat or otherwise it was possible that Goro had been a result of that. “Thank you Ann.” Goro took his hands out of his pockets. “I think I get it. I’m going to go talk to her now. I don’t want her to be scared of me.” Goro took a deep breath to even out his nerves then smiled at Ann.

“Are you mad at me?” Ann held onto the bottom of her shirt and twisted it nervously. 

“No. Thanks for your ideas. Tell your mom I said that too. He might have a point.” Goro made his smile wider trying to appear at least somewhat happy before he turned away to head home. He had a direction now.

He silently made his way home. He paused outside the door leading inside to get his courage back-up then went inside. As soon as he closed the door he could hear his mother moving around in the kitchen as she tried to stifle sobs. Goro was careful to give his mom a minute to collect herself before he went in, “Hi mom.”

“Hi Goro.” She returned the greeting with a forced smile. “How was your walk?” 

“Okay.” Goro answered as he moved to sit at the table. His mom wasn’t running which was different. “How are you?” 

“Alright.” She said then sat down across from Goro. What was going on? Did she know he was going to try talking to her? “How was school?” 

“The same as normal.” Goro said, feeling his nerves spike. Why was his mother actually letting him talk to her? “Um, mom, I wanted to ask you about something.” 

“What is it?”

“Um, okay, I don’t want to come off as… something… but I heard you on the phone after I presented.” Goro started and almost immediately his mother tensed. “I heard you say you were… scared of me.”

Goro looked away as he tried to give his mom the courtesy of being panicked in a small semblance of privacy. After a minute or so he looked back up to see her crying but still trying to force a smile. “Mom?” 

“I’m sorry Goro.” She said rubbing her face to try and clear away the tears. “I wanted to love you. I wanted to be there for you no matter what even if how you were made was…” She trailed off rather than actually say what happened. So Ann’s mom was right. Someone had forced themself on his mother, “For a long time I thought I was doing alright, but then you presented and… that scent.” 

“Scent?” Goro looked confused. 

“You smell like him.” She said as she hugged herself. “It was fine at first but then as it seeped into your clothes and your room it got harder to ignore. I can’t do it anymore.” 

“What do you mean?” Goro frowned. “Mom, I’m not going to hurt you or anything like that. I love you. I’m going to protect you from anyone who would hurt you.” Goro stood up quickly and the action made his mother flinch. “I-I’m sorry.” Goro took a step back. 

“N-no. I’m sorry. I tried to be the mother you deserved. You’re such a good boy and I love you but I just… can’t. I can’t be around you anymore. It’d be different if there was someone else but no one wants a bonded and used omega.” His mother forced a teary smile again. “Once an omega ends up like me, bonded but alone, they might as well be dead.” 

“No!” Goro stepped toward her again but this time he didn’t pull back when she flinched. “You don’t deserve to die because someone claimed you but didn’t mean it!” Goro was next to her now holding her hand. 

“You can say that but it’s too late.” Goro’s mother pulled her hand away and stood up before leaving the kitchen. Goro wasn’t done though.

“Mom, wait! Please,” Goro followed after her quickly, “tell me who did it. Who forced you? I’ll… I’ll kill them!” Goro shouted, catching the back of her shirt to stop her.

She turned to face him in a second to hold a finger to his mouth and hush him, “Don’t say things like that! You don’t ever say that.” She demanded of him before pulling away again, “He’s someone you shouldn’t seek out.” 

“Who?” Goro asked again. 

His mother looked at him with a stoney gaze as she tried to debate what she wanted to tell him. After a few minutes she let out a tired sigh and spoke, “Masayoshi Shido. He’s a politician.” She answered at long last and Goro felt elated at knowing the name of his father but also disdained that a politician had been the one who hurt his mother. “Maybe he’ll have changed. When I told him about you he… laughed at me, but that was over a decade ago. Maybe he’s better. Maybe he’ll be a father to you where I failed as a mother.” She began to walk again this time to go into Goro’s room and he followed.

“You didn’t fail. I’m not going anywhere near him--” Goro suddenly cut off when he looked around his room. There were boxes all over with his name on them and a few bags bulging with clothes. When had she done this? “Mom, what’s going on?” 

“I can’t keep you any longer.” She said balling her hands into tight fists. “I’ve tried and tried and tried but I just can’t do it anymore Goro.” She turned around to look at her son now her face covered in tears. “I love you so much but I can’t do it.” 

“I.. I can wear scent blockers and--” Goro started but a sharp knock on the door drew his attention. “No. I’m not going! I’m not leaving you alone!” Goro shouted, closing the door to his room to keep them both inside so she couldn’t answer the door. 

“You have to go Goro.” His mother tried to move past him but he held the door. “Goro, move.” 

“No!” Goro shouted, trying to keep the door closed with her pulling on it. “I won’t leave you all alone! What’ll happen to you if I leave? I have to protect you!” 

“Not any more Goro.” His mother stopped trying to open the door and instead gathered Goro into a hug. “I love you so much. I love you more than anything, and I want you to have the best life you can have. That won’t be possible with me.” Goro’s mother held him as the knocking on the door outside continued. 

Goro let his guard down as he sank into his mother’s arms to accept the hug. He buried his nose into her shoulder and inhaled deeply to catch the scent of distant wet earth with a hint of flowers. He wondered if there was a word for it. Maybe his mother knew what it was called? Goro was suddenly drawn out of his thoughts when his mother quickly pulled away to leave the room. 

“Mom no!” Goro ran after her but couldn’t reach her in time to stop her from opening the apartment door to let in two people. “I’m not going!”

“I’ve packed his clothes and things.” Goro’s mother muttered as the two people came in followed by a third much larger person. “Thank you for helping me.” 

“It’s alright ma’am. This is the kind of thing that happens from time to time.” One of the people said as she placed a hand on her shoulder. “We’ll make sure he’s well taken care of.” 

“I’m not going! Don’t touch me!” Goro shouted when the largest person came over to Goro. In an effort to escape Goro turned to run back to his room but before he could get two steps the person grabbed him and picked him off of the ground. “Let me go! Mom tell them to stop!” Goro screamed but his mother only looked away from him. 

Something about the way she just turned away made Goro’s heart shatter. She was ignoring him, she was letting these people touch him, she was throwing him away. He was unwanted. Goro suddenly stopped fighting against the person holding onto him but he wasn’t put back down. Goro looked at his mother one more time as the person holding Goro took him outside to place him in the back of a car. Once he was seated and the door was locked Goro had to watch outside the window as the people took his things out of the house and put them in the trunk. 

There were only two boxes and two bags but the walk to put them in the back felt so long to Goro. He stared at his mother through the window silently begging her to even look at him but she refused. She looked at everything else but him. It wasn’t until the people taking him away got into the car that she finally looked at him again. 

In an instant she began to sob into her hands and sink to the ground. Goro got up on his knees to bang on the window and beg for her to change her mind again. To let him back in the apartment but she couldn’t hear him. Not with this glass in the way. He started to try and roll it down but the window wouldn’t move. He had no choice but to try breaking it so he started to bang on the window over and over. He hit it as hard as he could while shouting for his mother again and again.

They were pulling away now. She was still on the ground crying. He had to comfort her. Goro forgave her for this but he needed to make her okay. Further and further away they went as he continued to try breaking the glass until finally she was out of sight. 

That was the last time Goro saw his mother. Two days later she killed herself leaving Goro with only one thing in his mind. 

He was going to kill Masayoshi Shido.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just finished my other major fic today! Well, it's posted anyway. I finished the actual writing ages ago. If hanahaki interests you please look at it! As for this one, I've been struggling a little writing to it lately. It's nothing you guys will have to worry about for a few weeks since it's around chapter eight where I hit a snag. Hopefully that's all cleared up by the next week. I have the fic planned it's just writing that can be a pain. lol
> 
> Thanks to those of you who have been reading! I know this is a pretty niche tag and also morally questionable to some folks. I'm apparently just a fan of writing to weird tags. lol. Well, I hope you enjoyed anyway. Thank you!
> 
> preview:  
>  _“What? You’ve seen him already?” Goro lifted his shoulder to hold his phone properly to his ear with a frown._
> 
> _“No. I checked the night footage for the cafe and he was looking at the camera all creepy and shit telling me he got what we need already and we need to meet.” Futaba sounded like she was typing. “Do you know how fucking weird it is to pull up camera footage and see some cyrtpid ass cat sitting on the counter in the middle of a dark cafe saying we need to meet? I watched how long he sat there, it was like three hours, and he didn’t move. Are you sure he’s not a monster?”_


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Goro has a great idea on how to get information from Kurusu for what his palace might be. Morgana. He’s just a cat to normal people so he can put Morgana with Kurusu to get the info they need. Once he has the keyword in mind Morgana wastes no time in telling the Thieves they need to move. Kurusu doesn’t seem to have much time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 🎃

Goro ended up spending more time at Leblanc than he meant to. He first waited until he was sure Kurusu was asleep then waited for Sojiro to leave. Once he was sure it was safe, Goro slipped out of the cafe to head home before the last train left for the night. By the time he finally got home it was nearing midnight and he was tired.

“You’re late!” Morgana shouted as Goro closed the door. “I was about to call Ann to look for you!” 

“Sorry, I had something I had to take care of.” Goro said as he kicked off his shoes then dumped his keys on the counter as he walked into the apartment. He set his briefcase next to the couch before he walked around it to sit on it with an exaggerated plop. After a moment he turned so he could lay on the couch and let out a sigh. “Akira Kurusu…” 

“Him again?” Morgana climbed onto the back of the couch to look down at Goro. “What happened?” 

“He’s a target, but I don’t know where to start with him.” Goro muttered. “I was going to put a mic in his room but Futaba took off with it so I lost that chance.” 

“Of course she did.” Morgana laid down. “What’s your next plan?” 

“I don’t know…” Goro lifted an arm to cover his eyes and rest them for a minute. After maybe five minutes of running through ideas he hummed at one he found interesting. A lot of them involved getting back into that room, which considering Kurusu’s willingness to be comforted Goro assumed that it might not be too hard. However, if he was wrong about how desperate Kurusu was it would ruin the plan. 

No, Goro needed something else. Someone else. “Mona, I think I know how to get you out of the house.” Goro lowered his arm at last. “We need to figure out his keyword. I bet he’s willing to tell a cat.” Goro sat up to look at Morgana. “You have to try getting it out of him.” 

“Huh? Wait! First of all, I’m _not_ a cat! Second of all how would _I_ get anything?” Morgana’s ears flattened against his head. 

“You _look_ like a cat. I leave you with him and hopefully he just… talks.” Goro motioned. “Tell me you never get the idea to try confiding in an animal or stuffed toy so the stress is off of your shoulders?” 

“I mean… I’ve seen it in some TV shows.” Morgana looked away with his ear twitching again. He didn’t say anything for a minute or so before he pressed his face into the couch. “Fine, but I demand sushi as payment for this! He’s probably going to give me cat food and make me use a litter box. Disgusting.” 

“I’ll tell him what to do with you.” Goro reached over to pick Morgana up and give him some pets to mess up his fur. 

“Hey stop that! Do you have any idea how long it takes me to fix my fur?! You’re a demon!” Morgana struggled to get free, only succeeding once Goro had thoroughly messed up his hair. “ _Ugh_ , sometimes I hate you!” Morgana started to try and fix his fur while Goro stood up to head into the kitchen. 

“Remember when you acted all cute so Ryuji and I would let you out of that cell?” Goro asked as he opened the fridge to find something to eat. He settled on a microwave meal and set it to cook before he turned back to Morgana. “I should have seen a fellow actor when I laid my eyes on you.”

“Not my fault!” Morgana pointed at Goro between attempts to fix his fur. “You’re the dingus that let your trust get the better of you.” 

“Please, I didn’t trust you at all. If you hadn’t been able to heal Ryuji I would have left you in that cage we found you in.” Goro inspected his gloves for wear before he removed them to put them on the counter next to his keys. “I only trusted you after you saved Ryuji from those knights. To be honest I’m still convinced you’re actually a shadow.” 

“I told you what I am!” Morgana stood up. “I’m a guide for the Trickster to lead them to their role in saving the world! You met Master Igor!” 

“Hmm, I guess.” Goro looked at his nails. Morgana was right. He had met Igor. The bug-eyed weirdo had told him that though he had the potential of the wild card, he wasn’t the Trickster they were waiting for, but Goro would be integral in teaching the Trickster how to use his powers right. Whatever the hell that meant, “There hasn't exactly been anything life changing happening in the world. Are you sure we even need ‘world saving’ powers?” 

“Persona are world saving powers!” Morgana jumped from the table to the floor and then up to the counter. “Saving people by changing the hearts of suicidal people is all good and stuff but we need to do more to people that were like Kamoshida.” 

“Yeah, well, the one I would have liked to change the heart of is already dead…” Goro looked irritated and sad at the same time. He would have changed his mother’s heart, maybe not to make her keep him but certainly so she wouldn’t have killed herself. On the other hand he would have liked to have done something to Shido but that was a shot he missed. 

“I think that a lot of us would have liked to change hearts before things happened but there’s nothing to be done about it now.” Morgana turned to try fixing his tail. 

“Yeah well, the people I would have done something about are both dead already so…” Goro turned to take his meal out of the microwave and get ready to eat it. 

“I wish we’d met sooner so we could have done something.” Morgana looked said. 

“It’s in the past.” Goro dismissed as he set his food down to look at Morgana. “My mother’s been dead for years and my shitstain of a father got what was coming to him.” Goro explained. “I just regret not being able to do it to him myself.” 

“You’re not a murderer Goro.” Morgana was trying to comfort him but it wasn’t really helping. 

“I’m not right now but for Shido I would have been.” Goro stabbed some of his food rather than faff about with chopsticks. “You know what he did.” 

“I do.” Morgana nodded. 

“But… Kurusu today said he found my scent… comforting.” Goro paused in the middle of lifting his food to his mouth to look thoughtful. “He said it reminded him of his former mate.” 

“Your scent?” Morgana questioned knowing for a fact that Goro’s scent was a sticky point for him. 

“Yeah. I’m still confused about what to do with him but… the way he spoke I feel pretty certain that he might hurt himself if we don’t do something for him. So… Tomorrow I’ll take you with me to Leblanc. I don’t know how much time we’ll have before he tries something now that the scent of his previous mate is gone.” Goro finally started to eat some now. 

“Okay, I’ll try to get something out of him. I can’t talk but I guess I can try to act as cat-like as I can.” Morgana sighed through his nose before Goro stopped eating to reach and help smooth Morgana’s fur again. 

“Thank you.”

━━━━━━━♟️━━━━━━━

The following day, Goro woke up early to get some things together to take Morgana with him on the train to head over to Leblanc before he needed to go to classes. This also served the purpose of making sure Kurusu was alive and well. 

“You’re here early.” Sojiro looked surprised when Goro walked into the cafe just before seven. 

“Well, I didn’t get a chance to say goodbye to you last night, and I also need a favor.” Goro lifted the cat carrier he had Morgana in. 

“Not that cat again.” Sojiro frowned. 

“He’s much better behaved now I promise.” Goro lowered the cage back down. “He’s even been trained to just use a normal toilet instead of a litter box.” 

“How-- no. I don’t want to know. That sounds like something you’d train a cat to do.” Sojiro pinched the bridge of his nose before the bathroom door to Goro’s left opened and Kurusu poked his head out. 

“Good morning, Kurusu-kun.” Goro greeted him. “How are you feeling today?” 

“Um, better.” Kurusu stared at the floor after exiting the bathroom completely to let the door shut.

“Hmmm, Kurusu-kun, how do you like cats?” Goro turned to walk closer to him. 

“Cats?” Kurusu looked confused then back down at the cat carrier with Morgana in it. “Yours?” 

“Sort of.” Goro shrugged. “I have work I have to do for a few days and I can’t leave him alone in my apartment while I’m gone. Sojiro hates him, could I have you watch him?” 

“Hey that still puts the little bastard under my roof!” Sojiro called. 

“Yes but Kurusu-kun would be the one attending to him.” Goro countered. “Morgana is trained to let you know when he needs the bathroom and all you have to do is give him a little of whatever you eat and he’ll be happy. I can’t get him to eat cat food for the life of me. He’s a spoiled brat of a cat.” 

Kurusu stared at Morgana for a minute before he chuckled a little. When asked what was funny he cleared his throat, “Sorry, just… The idea of you raising a spoiled cat is kind of funny and charming at the same time.” 

“Charming.” Goro smirked. “Well, I do currently hold the title of ‘Detective Prince’ so I’ll take that as a compliment. Can I trust you to keep him safe for me?” Goro offered Morgana’s cage to Kurusu. He put on his best princely expression and watched as Kurusu’s face slowly turned red. 

“Okay. I’ll do it.” Kurusu muttered, accepting the cage. “I’ll do my best.” 

“He shouldn’t be too much trouble.” Goro tried to comfort him. “He should be alright while we’re at classes today. You should be done by noon today so he can handle being alone for then.” 

“S-should you come up with me to make sure he doesn’t freak out in the room?” Kurusu was somehow a deeper red at this question. He didn’t invite people into his room often apparently. 

“That’s a good idea. Let’s go?” Goro motioned for Kurusu to head up first then followed after him. He only looked back once to Sojiro who had a knowing kind of look on his face. He seemed to think Goro was flirting on purpose but that couldn’t be further from the truth. 

As soon as Goro closed the door behind him, Kurusu placed Morgana on the table to let him out of the cage, then quickly moved to his bed to grab something. Before Goro could open his mouth to ask if Kurusu was okay, the omega was back in front of him. He bowed and held out Goro's sweater vest in front of him trying to return it, “Thank you very much for leaving this with me last night. I’m sorry for how I acted.” 

“You don’t have to apologize.” Goro shook his head but accepted the sweater. “If it helped you then I’m glad. I could leave you more--” 

“No!” Kurusu cut him off sharply before looking shy. “I mean, thank you but no thank you. I’ll… be alright.” 

“Are you sure? I don’t mind.” Goro looked Kurusu over as he tried to search for a tell. 

“I shouldn’t be imposing on someone I just met…” Kurusu muttered, reaching up to play with his bangs. There was the tell.

“I think that it’s fine so long as it goes both ways don’t you?” Goro motioned to Morgana who was doing his best to act like a real cat and rub up against Kurusu’s legs. 

“Goro just tell him I’m your most important person alive!” Morgana told him, making Goro suppress the need to roll his eyes. 

“He’s a pretty chatty cat. His name is Morgana by the way. I also call him Mona for short.” Goro explained. “If you tell him things he’ll kind of talk back at you like he understands. Honestly, I tell him a lot of things and it helps me get it out of my system.” Goro hoped he could convince Kurusu to confide in Morgana. “Since I won’t be able to see you for a few days I was kind of hoping to leave him with him with you. So he might be able to help you if you needed it.” 

Kurusu’s face blazed red once again at this but he didn’t say anything. Instead he stared down at Morgana before he knelt down to pick him up. Goro watched as Kurusu gave Morgana a squeeze then looked at Goro over Morgana’s black fur, “Thanks. I’ll make sure I take good care of him.” 

“I’ll be counting on you.” Goro smiled softly. “Classes will be starting soon, so why don’t you get dressed and I’ll wait down stairs for you.” 

“Okay.” Kurusu agreed, setting Morgana back on the ground. 

“I’ll get the keyword out of him easy. Watch me!” Morgana looked rather smugly up at Goro. 

“I’ll be counting on you too Mona.” Goro reached down to give Morgana a pet then turned to leave the room. Now he just needed to wait and see if Morgana could accomplish his task. At the very least Morgana could probably keep Kurusu going for a while longer.

━━━━━━━♟️━━━━━━━

The day following leaving Morgana alone with Kurusu was honestly the most boring Goro had felt in a few years now. He had, pathetically, gotten used to having the chatty cat around. Sure he was bossy and tried to tell Goro when he should sleep, but he was also someone for Goro to consider a person to come home to. He hadn’t had that for years after his mother sent him away so it was kind of nice. 

He was sitting at home going over a case file for the next day when his phone rang. He picked it up to look at who was trying to contact him and frowned when he noticed it was Futaba. “She’s making a phone call?” Goro muttered before he answered and tucked his phone between his ear and shoulder. “You know how to make phone calls?” 

“Shut up. Mona says we gotta meet up.” Futaba said flatly. 

“What? You’ve seen him already?” Goro lifted his shoulder to hold his phone properly to his ear with a frown. 

“No. I checked the night footage for the cafe and he was looking at the camera all creepy and shit telling me he got what we need already and we need to meet.” Futaba sounded like she was typing. “Do you know how fucking weird it is to pull up camera footage and see some cyrtpid ass cat sitting on the counter in the middle of a dark cafe saying we need to meet? I watched how long he sat there, it was like three hours, and he didn’t move. Are you sure he’s not a monster?” 

“He might be a shadow or something.” Goro admitted. “That was fast though. I wasn’t sure Kurusu-kun would talk that fast. Though… he was pretty upset that day…” 

“Yeah well, he’s got it. Ann’s free, we can meet at the train hideout before we head over.” Futaba said. “I’ll bring Mona with me. Should I text a meet up time?” 

“Yeah, make it in half an hour. I’ll meet you there.” Goro checked his watch as he picked the time. “We’ll get in and check it out before coming up with a strategy.”

“Cool. See you later.” Futaba hung up which prompted Goro to get up and get changed to head out.

Once Goro was dressed he paused to look around for something that he could use as an excuse if Kurusu spotted him. The best he had was that he forgot Morgana’s brush. He could also lie that his work finished sooner than he really expected. It was just as a precaution. He could still leave Morgana with him for a few days anyway. Maybe for as long as it took them to deal with his palace.

Goro reached the meeting place just as Ann did. Her normal daily disguise of an oversized sweater and large sunglasses only did so much to hide her identity with her hair done up in her signature twin tails. She was leaning against the railing as Goro approached her, “Hey Goro. Ryuji sends his regards.” 

“I should message him… tell him I said hi.” Goro set his briefcase down to look out for Futaba. After a few more minutes she finally arrived with a large bag on her back. “What is that?” Goro pointed once Futaba reached them and took the spaceship shaped bag off to turn it toward them. It had a large clear bubble on the outside to show Morgana sitting inside. 

“It’s a cat adventure bag!” Futaba unzipped the bag so Morgana could poke his head out of it. “I got it in case I had to keep an eye on Mona again for you to go to like… Hokkaido or Okinawa or LA again or whatever.”

“I see…” Goro stared at the bag as Morgana poked out at last. “What did you learn?” 

“That boy is super in need of our help.” Morgana started, “He resents what he is and thinks he ruined his dead mate’s life over it. He told me last night ‘I just need to get through this and then I’ll be with him.’ Sounds like he’s willing to hurt himself once I go back to Goro’s.” 

“What’s his name?” Ann looked at her phone. 

“Akira Kurusu.” Goro answered. 

“Okay, Mona you get what his palace might be?” Ann poked at her phone before the sound of the Meta-Nav waking up sounded with the words ‘candidate found’. 

“An arena?” Morgana said but the Nav rejected it. “A colosseum then.” This time the Nav accepted it. “Now where is it.” 

“Oh god. Please don’t say it’s back in Shimogo.” Futaba cried but the Nav rejected it. “Ok just to make sure... Akira Kurusu’s parent’s house?” Futaba suggested to another sound of rejection. “Maybe something else?” 

“Hmm, maybe we’ll get lucky and it’s just Leblanc.” Ann suggested to a positive sound. “Oh man, sweet.” 

“There’s a higher power making this easier on us all.” Futaba praised. “Should we head back to Leblanc and look at it?” 

“Yes, we’ll just take a look inside then back out and plan.” Goro looked around at the Thieves he had before they packed up and started to head back to Yongen-Jaya. The four of them moved as close to Leblanc as they dared before opening the Nav up again. “Okay, are we ready?” Goro glanced around to unanimous nods before he looked at his phone again, this time inputting Kurusus’s palace words into his Nav for them to go inside.

As soon as the Metaverse faded into sight the party found themselves in the middle of a vast grassy field. The field dropped off after a few years to roll into a small creek with trees and shrubs. It was a lovely sight, which didn’t change even when Goro finally regarded the large white marbled colosseum in front of him. 

“This has to be the least imposing palace we’ve been in.” Ann used her hand to block the sun hanging overhead. “It’s pretty.” 

“I have a lot of shadows on the radar but they’re not moving.” Futaba checked her data with interest. “From the way I’m seeing them I think they’re… sitting?” 

“Let’s go inside and look, carefully.” Morgana, now in his Metaverse form, said then led the party toward the entrance. Going inside gave them nothing to go by. The corridors were empty all around and the only way to get into the inner part of the building was a pair of double doors. 

“So that’s where I’m seeing all the shadows on the radar. If we open those doors we might be in trouble.” Futaba looked up at Goro. “I don’t think it’s any more or less than other palaces we’ve seen before but these are all in one place. It could be too much for us without Ryuji here too.” 

“We’ll have to look at least.” Goro said, looking at Ann and Morgana who agreed. With that decision between them Goro reached to open the door however, as he turned the knob the floor gave out under them. Goro gripped the door knob as tight as he could as his free hand grabbed hold of Futaba by her belt who grabbed Morgana who grabbed Ann. “Shit.” 

“I can’t believe Mr. Meticulous Detective didn’t check for a trap.” Futaba said dryly as she clearly struggled to keep her hold. “Are you distracted? Is your dick thinking for you?” 

“Shut. Up.” Goro warned her before the sound of someone approaching drew Goro’s attention to the form of Kurusu dressed in clothes resembling those worn by a roman emperor. A bright red shawl wrapped around most of him with a thick leather belt keeping it in place. The robe over the shawl was black with gold trim and on his head was a crown of gold laurel leaves. The yellow of his eyes was the tell Goro needed in order to know that this was Kurusu’s shadow and the palace ruler.

“Looks like more have come to challenge him.” Kurusu’s shadow looked at Goro struggling to keep everyone from falling into the hole. “You don’t look like much… but maybe you can do it.”

“Kurusu, listen, you don’t have to do this.” Goro could feel his hand starting to slip off of the door now. He knew trying to talk down a shadow never worked but he needed to buy time to figure out how to get them out of this safely.

“I’m not the one in charge here.” Kurusu shook his head. “My rein is going to come to an end soon.” From behind Kurusu another one of him emerged. This one dressed in black gladiator armor, a cognition of himself? “I’m sorry.” Emperor Kurusu bower his head shortly before the gladiator one drew a weapon to jab at Goro. There was no choice. He needed to drop or he was going to get stabbed. 

With a chorus of screams the party began to fall into the darkness. Goro looked up as he fell to see the gladiator wrap an arm around the emperor. Why was that? Was the cognition of Kurusu protecting himself or was that the thing that was going to kill him? Goro’s mind was dragged away from those thoughts as he realized there was no time to worry about that. 

“Mona we need something to slow us!” Goro shouted down. 

“Okay! Zorro!” Morgana summoned his persona to cast wind down to make them slow down. After a few more yards, the wall suddenly funneled and they slid along a stony wall instead which wasn’t as dangerous. 

After going down further on the stone slide, the party was deposited into a cell with dirt floors and chains on the walls. Goro pushed himself up to look around wondering how deep they’d fallen. 

“Get off Mona!” Ann pulled the cat off of her to toss him aside. “Don’t start that shit again.” 

“I wasn’t!” Morgana landed on his feet after Ann threw him. “It was an accident and I’m sorry!” 

“Stop yelling.” Goro requested as he went to each bar to give each a firm shake. He couldn’t find a weakness in the bars. Instead he found that his white gloves stained orange. Was it rust or blood was the question. “Oracle, can you see a way out for us?” 

“I’m looking.” Futaba sat cross legged on the floor to pull up screens. “Looks like this cell is on rails? There’s a few of them around--” As Futaba explained the cell began to move to the side to allow a new cell to move into place and ready for the next unfortunate souls who might fall in, “Cool. Yeah that. There’s the side ones that move it in a circle around the arena. Then there are forward ones that move us toward an elevator? If we can break them open we might be able to get out and get to the elevator and get out.” 

“Okay, Panther, help me heat and cool the bars quickly.” Goro stepped away from the bars then touched his mask to mentally shuffle in a new persona that knew ice. 

“Got it, Crow.” Ann reached for her red cat mask. “Dance, Carmen!” Ann called her persona forward to start and heat the bars with her fire magic. After a minute or so of that she stepped back to give Goro space instead. 

“Black Frost!” Goro commanded the soot covered snowman to come out and begin casting ice on the bars to quickly freeze them. “Smash it!” Goro ordered next and this time Morgana summoned his persona to attack the bars and cut them open. “Good.”

“Easy.” Ann looked pleased with herself before the sound of something groaning in the distance caught her attention. After a moment of waiting for something to jump out at them the cell began to move. “What’s happening?!” 

“We’re getting moved toward the elevator.” Futaba answered. 

“Looks like we wasted time breaking the bars.” Goro watched their surroundings carefully. After a slow movement toward the middle of the mechanical area the cell began to go up but at a much faster pace. 

The party braced themselves for when the cell stopped going up just before the ceiling. Goro could hear something coming from above him. It was thunderous cheering. It sounded as if thousands of people were on the level above them and now Goro was worried. What the hell was this place?

A muffled voice spoke from above them but Goro couldn’t make anything out. A second later, the ceiling opened up to then push the cell up into the sun once again. Goro looked around to note that they were now in the center of the colosseum. The stands were filled with shadows cheering so loudly it sent vibrations through the floor.

The cheering stopped all at once when someone, Kurusu’s shadow, stood to raise his hands demanding silence. “As you can see new contenders have decided to enter the colosseum. It is by law that they are put to the test.” A dull roar of cheers ripped through the crowd before silence again, “To test them before they can challenge the champion we will summon our best fighters!” Kurusu’s shadow motioned at the space before the party where a large stone door opened. 

“Hold up here!” Ann shouted. “We didn’t come in here to fight!” 

“We don’t have a choice.” Goor walked out of the cell followed by the others. Once they were inside the cell they’d been in went back into the ground. “Here it comes. Guess we’re doing this today.” 

“Damn it.” Ann shifted to get ready to fight. Here they came. 

━━━━━━━💎━━━━━━━

Four years had passed since Goro had been forced from his home and learned of his mother’s death. Four years since he swore he was going to murder Masayoshi Shido with his own hands. Three years since he’d gained the power of persona and the means to traverse the Metaverse. Two years since he’d been denied his righteous revenge. 

Goro Akechi had done his best to be exactly what Shido would have needed. Shido was trying to change his political stature. Goro had a means to make it happen, but before Goro could convince Shido to trust him, he died. A heart attack in the middle of the night took Shido’s life before Goro could. 

For a year Goro struggled with what he could do to continue forward. He’d lost the only thing he cared about and now he was just floating around aimlessly. The criminal justice shit he got himself wrapped up into was pointless. He had this junior detective status on him but no one was going to listen to him anyway. The only saving grace was that he had a good face. Someone looked at his face and said he’d make a good TV personality. 

Goro accepted because then at least he’d have some kind of focus, something to do, a purpose. Suddenly he was the second coming of the detective prince but it was just a title they slapped on him to make him interesting. Goro hadn’t worked with the police, he’d never stopped a case, but the media still ate it up. Fools.

“Goro?” A voice called to Goro from somewhere drawing his attention to a familiar blonde shade of hair. “It is you!” Suddenly Goro was wrapped up into a hug from someone he wasn’t sure he remembered the name of.

“Uhhhh,” Goro sounded a little concerned when the girl pulled off of him. He looked at the girl for a minute before the bell dinged, “Ann Takamaki?” 

“That’s right! You remembered me!” Ann said gleefully as she gave Goro another squeeze. “I missed you so much! How have you been?!” 

“I’ve been…” Goro cast around for an answer to her question but just ended on that instead. “I haven’t seen you in years. You look great.” 

“Thanks! You’re pretty good looking yourself.” Ann winked with a grin. “How about we get something to eat? Come on! We have so much catching up!” Ann grabbed Goro by the arm dragging him along toward the nearest restaurant she could find, which happened to be Big Bang Burger. “So! How have you been?” 

“I already answered that.” Goro said but he knew his answer before was dodgy as fuck. 

“Uh-huh… you look like you’re doing good. A little lost in the eyes but you know, alive.” Ann motioned all around him but she hit a nerve. He _was_ lost. Damn her. “I heard about what happened to your mom. I’m so sorry.”

“It was a long time ago now.” Goro used a fry to move some ketchup around his place mat. “Let’s not talk about me. What are you up to these days?” 

“I model. Turns out I’m pretty good at it. My mom says it’s all the alpha about me and this wave of wanting to see more alpha women in public, you know?” Ann explained. “Between that I’m going to Shujin.” 

“Shujin? Wasn’t there a student who--” Goro trailed off as Ann’s expression turned dark before he could finish his sentence, “You know the student.” 

“Yeah.” Ann picked up her cup. “That… that bastard Kamoshida did something to her. I just know it.” Ann clenched her fist tightly. 

“Kamoshida?” 

“Some Olympic gold medalist teaching at the school. Shiho, the girl who fell, loved volleyball, but Kamoshida wouldn’t let her play. Said it was too much for an omega to handle… He--he took advantage of her.” 

“I’m sorry.” Goro frowned looking away from her a moment then back again. 

“The cops won’t even do anything about it. I hate it.” Ann started to cry. 

Goro chewed on the inside of his cheek as he tried to think of what he could do to help, “I’m a detective now. Kind of. I do a little here and there. I could… try looking into it?” 

“You would do that?” Ann suddenly looked interested. 

“Yeah, you’re an old friend. It’s the least I can do.” Goro smiled trying to convey that he would try for her. 

The following days had Goro searching for anything he could find on Kamoshida. He was a medalist alright but under the surface he had a slew of problems. His file was clean on the surface but when Goro dug deeper he had countless unpursued sexual assault cases. Why had they been left? Because a number of the people involved had died of unknown circumstances, vanished, or were dismissed as upset ramblings of omegas just out of heat. None of it was proven and to Kamoshida’s lawyer at the time it meant that everyone was lying.

“Disgusting.” Goro said around his straw of boba. 

“Hey, you’re that Akechi dude right? Takamaki’s friend?” Someone called to Goro through the torrent of rain before a blonde boy rushed to stand near him to get some protection. “She said you were looking into something for her.” 

“Did she now?” Goro looked over the boy as he took of his school jacket to try and wring some of the water out of it. “And you are?” 

“Ryuji Sakamoto, Takamaki asked me to talk to you about that shithead Suguru Kamoshida.” Ryuji offered his hand to Goro but Goro made a point of not taking it. “O...kay. So, what do you wanna know?” 

“How do you know Kamoshida exactly?” Goro asked, lowering his tea. 

“I was part of the track team before Kamoshida fucked us over. He rode us hard and offered no, like, encouragement for improvement or whatever. He even talked shit to us every day. He said some shit about him being allowed to because as far as he and the staff were concerned he was the king of the castle. Fuckin’ asshole. He talked shit about my mom and when I took the bait and swung at him he fuckin’ busted my knee and then disbanded the whole team.” Ryuji explained. 

“I see.” Goro wasn’t sure why Ann sent this guy to him. He had no new information he could use. “So… what do you have that I can use against him?” 

“I got a buddy in Takamaki’s class who’s on the team. He’s not really a player because he’s benched all the time but after Suzui threw herself off the room he came to me and told me about the shit Kamoshida’s been pulling.” Ryuji explained. “Takamaki overheard us and told me to get you to talk to my buddy. My friend is actually at Shujin Academy right now for practice. If we go together we can catch him to talk to him.” At the mention of Shujin, Sakamoto flinched as if in pain but he shrugged it off.

Goro touched his chin in deep thought. This could be a possible lead. Suzui was in the hospital in a coma so if Sakamoto had someone he could talk to who was currently part of the abuse and could corroborate it then they had a chance of making Kamoshida pay. “Alright. I’ll go with you. Lead the way.” 

Goro was only a step behind Sakamoto as he led them through some backstreets until they reached where Shujin was supposed to be. Supposed to be because it wasn’t there. Rather it was a castle with tall walls and roses around the sign that read ‘Kamoshida’s Fantastic and Amazing Castle of Love and Desire.’ 

“What the fuck?” Sakamoto looked around. “Uh. This is where the school should be…?” 

“Should be.” Goro took his phone out to check for the Meta-Nav but when he tried to take them back out his phone refused, instead it flashed with a message ‘find the guide’ before turning itself off. “Find the guide?” 

“Guide?” Sakamoto repeated trying to look at Goro’s phone but he put it away. “No service?” 

“Nope.” Goro answered. “Let’s go inside and look around. Maybe we can find some answers.” 

“Yeah, this has to be some kinda weird prank.” Ryuji led them inside the castle. Once they were inside Goro looked up at the portrait of Kamoshida’s face and knew that this was some kind of mental castle of his. Well, shit. 

Goro knew his day was about to go bad. He just didn’t know how bad until castle guards showed up to arrest him and Sakamoto. Goro was just a second shy of summoning his persona when a metal sword hilt to the back of his head knocked him out cold. 

By the time he woke up again Sakamoto was shaking him awake. “Get off.” Goro mumbled, shoving Sakamoto off of him so he could sit up. “Where the fuck are we?” 

“A dungeon of some kind? I keep hearing people screaming and it’s weird.” Ryuji looked worried. “You okay?” 

“Thanks for your concern but I don’t need it.” Goro got to his feet to check the bars for a weak point. He needed a place to send Loki at. When one of the bars jiggled in place Goro motioned for Sakamoto to back up then did what he did before to summon his persona however, when he did nothing happened. “What?” 

“Uh, dude you okay?” Sakamoto questioned from behind Goro. 

“Something’s wrong with me.” Goro said before the sound of clanking armor reached his ears. “Stay behind me.” Goro demanded just as the form of Kamoshida appeared before them in a long red cape. “Suguru Kamoshida. I was hoping to meet with you.” 

“How dare you greet your king like you’re equals?” Kamoshida sneered through the bars. “The guards told me they’d caught thieves but it’s just rats. Disappointing.” Kamoshida rolled his eyes, “Open it up.”

As ordered, the guard opened the cell door and in they came, one at a time to crowd the only escape. Goro cussed under his breath as he tried to think of what he could do to save them both. He needed to fight off Kamoshida but Loki wasn’t responding to him. Why wasn’t he in his costume either? Fuck. 

“Now then, is that Sakamoto?” Kamoshido leaned around to look at the blond behind Goro. 

“Damn right it is! What the fuck is this shit you’re pulling Kamoshi--daaah!” Sakamoto tried to dart around Goro but Goro wouldn’t let him and yanked him back by his collar. “What’s the big deal!?” 

“Stay behind me damnit.” Goro hissed. His powers were acting strange but he still knew more than Sakamoto did and that’s what mattered more here. 

“The punishment for trespassing is death.” Kamoshida said, looking unimpressed. “A punishment I intend to carry out right here. Get them.” Kamoshida snapped his fingers which set his guards on the two of them. Goro quickly knelt down to pick up his briefcase and bashed the nearest guard across the head with it. The helmet of the shadow spun around before ending up with it turned backwards on its head.

“Run!” Goro shouted at Sakamoto as he turned his sights on Kamoshida but before he could connect the second shadow caught Goro with it’s shield to bash him back into the stone of the cell they were in. His head snapped back into the wall making him see stars. “Fuck!” 

“How dare you assault one of my guards?!” Kamoshida shouted at Goro as the shadow guard pinned Goro to the wall so he couldn’t move as more guards moved in to grab Sakamoto and hold him to the wall. “You will be punished first! Prepare to die!” Kamoshida took the sword from the confused guard to aim it at Goro’s middle. 

“Fucking--” Goro cussed as he struggled and fought against his bindings. Suddenly everything froze around him and turned black and white until the black began to bleed into the white with a sinister laugh in the background. “Loki?” Goro questioned. 

“ _ʏᴏᴜ’ᴠᴇ ʟᴏꜱᴛ ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴡɪʟʟ ᴏꜰ ʀᴇʙᴇʟʟɪᴏɴ_.” Loki spoke to Goro from the shadows. “ _ᴛʜᴇ ᴡɪʟʟ ᴛᴏ ᴄᴀʟʟ ᴍᴇ ᴀɴʏᴡᴀʏ. ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴘʟᴀɴ ᴛᴏ ꜱᴜʀᴠɪᴠᴇ ᴛʜɪꜱ ʏᴏᴜ ɴᴇᴇᴅ ꜱᴏᴍᴇᴛʜɪɴɢ ᴇʟꜱᴇ. ʏᴏᴜ ɴᴇᴇᴅ **ꜱᴏᴍᴇᴏɴᴇ** ᴇʟꜱᴇ._” 

“Who?!” Goro demanded.

“ _ꜱᴏᴍᴇᴏɴᴇ ᴡʜᴏ ɢɪᴠᴇꜱ ᴀ ꜱʜɪᴛ_.” Loki’s faded into laughter. He was abandoned again was he? Fuck. This time he was going to die for this. Why did he do this? Because he was asked? He just wanted to try and do something good. He wasn’t a hero, he really was going to murder Shido, but now there was nothing left. If he didn’t fight now to defend himself he was going to die, and this idiot Sakamoto.

“Damn it! Fuck this shit! I’m not dying here!” Goro shouted. “Loki get back here!” Goro screamed to a void. “I’m not going to fail here!” Goro looked around for a way out, for a persona, and then in the distance he could see a light. It was small at first but it grew vaster and closer until the space around Goro was all white, “Who’s there?!” 

“𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝕜𝕟𝕠𝕨 𝕞𝕪 𝕟𝕒𝕞𝕖.” A new voice spoke to Goro. There was a pause before it spoke again. “𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝕟𝕖𝕖𝕕 𝕠𝕟𝕝𝕪 𝕔𝕒𝕝𝕝 𝕞𝕪 𝕟𝕒𝕞𝕖 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕛𝕦𝕤𝕥𝕚𝕔𝕖 𝕥𝕠 𝕓𝕖 𝕒𝕥 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕔𝕒𝕝𝕝.”

“Your name…” Goro paused to think about the name before it came to him. “Robin Hood.” 

“𝕋𝕙𝕒𝕥’𝕤 𝕣𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥. ℕ𝕠𝕨 𝕘𝕣𝕒𝕤𝕡 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕛𝕦𝕤𝕥𝕚𝕔𝕖!” Robin Hood said before reality snapped back to time. Goro lifted his head to look at Kamoshida making the man pause mid strike to stare at the new mask on Goro’s face.

A rush of energy sent the guards flying and back to give Goro time to grab the sides of his new red mask. He began to pull at the mask to get it off. Like before it stuck to the skin of his face and refused to move easily until Goro let out a scream as he ripped it off at last, splashing blood across his uniform and the floor, “Come forth, Robin Hood!” Goro demanded before a buff white clad persona appeared behind him as blue fire burned across his body revealing a different outfit compared to the first one he’d awakened to. 

“So this is my power now…?” Goro looked at his hands then to Kamoshida as he cowered away from him. “Fine then, I’ll deal with you here and--” Goro paused looking across the room to see Sakamoto holding his side, his yellow shirt staining red. “Oh for fucks sake.”

“Sorry man.” Sakamoto said when he realized Goro was looking at him. 

“Give me your arm!” Goro rushed to Sakamoto’s side to gather him up. He sent Robin Hood to knock back the shadows as they tried to fight them again. Once they were outside the cell Goro set Sakamoto against a wall to leave him still and lock the door. “I’ll be back to you, Kamoshida.” Goro spat at him before he picked Sakamoto up again. “Come on, let’s go.” Goro dragged the blond along the cells until Kamoshida’s screaming faded. “Let me see how deep it is?” Goro leaned Sakamoto against a wall to force the other to lift his shirt up. 

“Burns like hell.” Sakamoto said. 

“What happened?” Goro frowned. 

“I tried to steal a sword offa one of ‘em and when it caught me it took it back and I got slashed during it.” Sakamoto explained. 

“It’ll probably need stitches. We gotta get you out of here.” Goro picked Sakamoto up again. 

“I can help!” Someone called from a short distance away from them. 

“Who’s there?” Goro called placing a hand on his mask. 

“Over here.” The voice called from one of the cells. Goro approached it slowly, leaving Sakamoto against the wall so he could see what was trying to talk to him. Once Goro cleared a pillar he looked down at what must have been a monster in the shape of a cat. “I’m Morgana and I can heal him if you let me out!” 

“A… monster cat?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That’s the last Goro chapter for now. Next will be Akira and it will stay that way for a hot minute because i have plans. I do hope you enjoyed things here. I want you guys to know I didn’t pick the preview for the next chapter. My beta/co-author did so blame her. I’m sorry. Anyway, see you next week or on twitter/discord. :D
> 
> Preview: _“I--” Akira looked past Akechi to Ren as he drew his sword to fight them. “Ren.” Akira felt his chest tighten as he looked at Ren ready to fight them. He didn’t want to do this but did he have a choice? Akira didn’t want to watch Akechi or his friends die._
> 
> _“I’ll save you Akira.” Ren promised. “Once I kill them you can just relax and let me take care of everything.” He really was going to kill them?_


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akechi asks Akira to watch over his cat for a few days while he worked. However the day after he gets the cat, it vanishes. Akira in a panic tries to find the cat but ends up in a bit of trouble.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's sex in this chapter via the flash back. Flashbacks are noted with diamonds so please be prepared for that. Thank you.

Akira woke with a light feeling in his chest. He didn’t feel inherently guilty about something for once and it was nice. He let out a sleepy yawn as he squeezed the bundle of blankets closer to his face to inhale deeply, catching the scent of leather that made him feel comforted. He knew that it wasn’t Ren, the scent lacked that lemony component, but the orange was a close second to make Akira feel like Ren was still around.

By the time Akira finally bothered to open his eyes he remembered why he was smelling orange and not lemon. He pulled the blankets back from his face to look at the sweater vest he’d been left with. Last night had been a struggle after he discovered Ren’s scent was gone. He was panicking and unable to calm down no matter what he did. Then Akechi showed up and everything was okay again. At least it was okay enough that Akira didn’t try to do something foolish. 

“Akechi-san…” Akira said before he sat up to hold the sweater vest in his lap to look at it. He ran his thumbs over the fabric before bringing it to his face to inhale again. He knew it was weird but the scent was just so comforting and relaxed and it made Akira feel safe. He felt safe but now the guilt was seeping in again and it was worse than ever.

Akira quickly ripped the sweater from his face when the mental sound of Ren’s voice in his head questioned what he was doing. What _was_ he doing? Akira had a mate even if he was… dead. Akira clenched his jaw tightly before tossing Akechi’s sweater across the room for it to land silently on the floor. 

Akira couldn’t betray Ren. Even if he was dead he still lived on in Akira somehow.

“Okay.” Akira took a deep breath. “I need to get ready. I won’t be late.” Akira told himself then got up. He made his bed then picked up the sweater to fold it and set it on the bed before leaving the room to make his way silently down to the bathroom to brush his teeth and try to tame his hair.

He’d just finished rinsing his mouth out when he heard someone familiar talking outside. Akira moved slowly to poke his head outside the bathroom and spot Akechi talking with Sojiro. Akira wondered if he should hide away again but Akechi spotted him before he could decide. There was no choice but to step out now. 

“Good morning, Kususu-kun.” Akechi greeted him with a smile that made Akira feel a little weak. Shit. “How are you feeling today?” Again Akira was reminded that Akechi comforted him last night and now knew for a fact that Akira was an omega. Embarrassment tore through Akira as he tried to think of what he could do or say to salvage that. 

“Um, better.” Akira answered as he let the bathroom door close behind him just before Akechi approached him with a small cage. What was going on?

“Hmmm, Kurusu-kun, how do you like cats?” Akechi finally asked and then he knew that the cage must have had a cat in it. When Akira looked at it a bit more closely he managed to spot a black cat with a white muzzle. 

“Cats?” Akira clarified. “Yours?” 

“Sort off.” Akechi answered, only serving to confuse Akira now. Was the cat not his? “I have work I have to do for a few days and I can’t leave him alone in my apartment while I’m gone. Sojiro hates him, could I have you watch him?” Akechi requested.

“Hey that still puts that little bastard under my roof!” Sojiro shouted, making Akira suppress a laugh. Was his cat naughty?

“Yes, but Kurusu-kun would be the one attending to him. Morgana is trained to let you know when he needs the bathroom and all you have to do is give him a little of whatever you eat and he’ll be happy. I can’t get him to eat cat food for the life of me. He’s a spoiled brat of a cat.” Akechi seemed unfazed by Sojiro’s shout. 

It gave Akira a moment to consider the fact that somehow Akechi, who was probably organized and a perfectionist, raised a spoiled cat. Was the cat spoiled because Akechi tried too hard to train it or was it spoiled because Akechi was super affectionate with him? That was actually kind of cute to think about. Akira couldn’t help laughing a little about it. 

“Something amusing?” Akechi raised his eyebrow. 

“Sorry, just… The idea of you raising a spoiled cat is kind of funny and charming at the same time.” Akira did his best to explain. He didn’t want to come off as rude. He just thought it was sweet. 

“Charming.” Akechi looked amused at least. “Well, I do currently hold the title of ‘Detective Prince’ so I’ll take that as a compliment. Can I trust you to keep him safe for me?” Akechi held the cat carrier out to him and Akira couldn’t refuse that smile. Akira took the carrier feeling his face turning red as his hand touched Akechi’s. Damn him.

“Okay. I’ll do it.” Akira muttered trying not to act too shy at the moment. God he was bad. “I’ll do my best.” 

“He shouldn’t be too much trouble. He should be alright while we’re at classes today. You should be done by noon today so he can handle being alone for then.” Akechi explained and Akira wondered if it really would be okay to take this cat. **He** wasn’t even used to his room yet and he was supposed to expect Akechi’s cat to deal with it?

“S-should you come up with me to make sure he doesn’t freak out in the room?” Akira questioned. He could give back the sweater and maybe ask Akechi not to tell anyone he was an omega.

“That’s a good idea. Let’s go?” Akechi agreed and Akira led the way up the steps. 

As soon as Akechi closed the door behind him Akira placed the cat on the table to let him out of the carrier then shuffled awkwardly to the bed to grab Akechi’s sweater. Without looking at Akechi’s face Akira moved back to Akechi then bowed as he offered back Akechi’s sweater vest, “Thank you very much for leaving this with me last night. I’m sorry for how I acted.” 

“You don’t have to apologize.” Akechi accepted the clothing back. Thank god for that, “If it helped you then I’m glad. I could leave you more--” 

“No!” Akira snapped his head up as he tried to get control of the conversation before Akechi could be too nice to him. He turned red as he realized that he had shouted but continued on, “I mean, thank you but no thank you. I’ll… be alright.” 

“Are you sure? I don’t mind.” Akechi was inspecting his face so Akira turned away. He didn’t need to be called out. 

“I shouldn’t be imposing on someone I just met…” Akira explained as he played with his bangs. He really needed to get Akechi to drop it. Besides, who was to say that Akira was going to continue to need anything?

“I think that it’s fine so long as it goes both ways don’t you?” Akechi motioned down to his cat probably trying to suggest that keeping an eye on a cat for however many days even slightly equated to leaving scented clothes with Akira to keep him content in the fact his mate was dead and now gone forever in all things. 

Akira was thinking bitterly about how he’d depressed himself now he felt something bump against his leg. He looked down to see Akechi’s cat rubbing against his legs purring and meowing, “He’s a pretty chatty cat.” Akechi explained, “His name is Morgana by the way. I also call him Mona for short. If you tell him things he’ll kind of talk back at you like he understands. Honestly, I tell him a lot of things and it helps me get it out of my system. Since I won’t be able to see you for a few days I was kind of hoping to leave him with him with you.” What was that supposed to mean? “So he might be able to help you if you needed it.” Oh that.

Akira’s face blazed red once more at Akechi catching on at how depressed Akira was. Instead of responding Akira stared down at Morgana before he knelt down to pick him up. Maybe Akira would talk to this cat. Maybe getting it out in the open would make him feel better. He hadn’t had anyone to talk to about anything in so long he wasn’t sure he remembered how. “Thanks. I’ll make sure I take good care of him.” 

“I’ll be counting on you.” Akechi smiled and it was so kind. Akira was almost tempted to ask for something scented again anyway. “Classes will be starting soon so why don’t you get dressed and I’ll wait down stairs for you.” 

“Okay.” Akira nodded then put Morgana back on the ground much to his apparent protest as he meowed loudly.

“I’ll be counting on you too Mona.” Akechi gave his cat a pet before he turned to leave the room to give Akira time to get dressed. Once Akechi was gone Akira looked down at Morgana before kneeling to give him a few pets. “You’re a lucky cat you know? He cares about you a lot. Or maybe he just cares about helpless creatures.” Akira let his hand fall off to the side. “I’m pretty pathetic. Sorry you’re stuck with me.” Akira gently rubbed his thumb over Morgana’s ear before he stood to get changed to leave.

━━━━━━━♟️━━━━━━━

After going to school with Akechi and finding his way back to Leblanc, Akira was not in the mood to do anything else. He thought he’d be okay around so many people after doing so well with Akechi with him but once he was by himself he started to fall apart pretty quickly. Panic was his friend the entire train ride back to Leblanc and he wondered how many people could smell it on him like Akechi had. 

Akira nodded to Sojiro as a greeting before he went up to his room to escape to what was his only sanctuary right now, “Ren, I’m… home.” Akira said before the memory that all of Ren’s scent was gone now. He closed the door behind him and once it locked he leaned against the door and slid down until he was sitting on the ground. He let out a sigh as he pulled his knees to his chest. 

He took a few shaky breaths before he felt something touch him. His first reaction was panic as he snapped his head up to look at who was touching him before he realized it was Akechi’s cat, “Oh right, you’re here. I’m sorry I forgot Mona.” Akira kept his knees held to his chest with one arm as he pet Morgana with his free hand. “I’m just used to being alone.”

The cat simply meowed at him before bumping into his hand and arching into his pet. Akira continued to sit there and pet Morgana for a minute or two before he let out a sigh and stood. “I guess I should change and then get us food huh?” Akira forced a smile. “Do you need the bathroom?” Akira wondered how else to ask Morgana what he needed. 

The cat seemed to understand him as he pawed at the door. That probably meant he needed the bathroom right? Maybe? Sure. Akira stepped away from Morgana to get changed into lounge clothes then picked Morgana up to take him downstairs. He took the two of them into the bathroom to let him go before returning him upstairs. He just needed to grab them a small plate of food then he was free from social interactions. 

“Um, Sakura-san?” Akira tried to draw Sojiro’s attention from near the sink while he made coffee for a customer. 

“What?” Sojiro paused his pouring to look at the omega. 

“Could I get some food?” Akira asked with his voice almost a whisper. He knew it was probably impossible to hear what he said so he cleared his throat to repeat himself. 

“You don’t have to ask about that. Go ahead. You can have anything you find in the fridge or any curry on the stove.” Sojiro waved a hand to encourage Akira to do what he wanted while he went back to pouring the coffee. 

Akira didn’t make Sojiro repeat himself as he moved into the kitchen to get something for him and Morgana to eat. He took a bit of the rice and curry there and took a few pickled radishes out of the jar he found in the fridge before he started to make his way back upstairs but before he could get away Sojiro called for him to wait. Akira froze wondering if he needed to put the radishes back or if he took too much curry but his worrying came to a screeching halt as Sojiro placed a cup of coffee on his plate. 

“Here, my curry was scientifically designed to go with a good cup of coffee. Enjoy.” Sojiro left Akira alone after that to let him escape upstairs. Once he was alone with Akechi’s cat again he let out a sigh. He was so tense all the time now. It was ruining his spine. Not that his posture did anything to help it but still. 

“I got food, Morgana.” Akira called for the cat who had found a comfortable space on his bed to lay down. At the mention of food Morgana jumped down to sit with Akira, “Akechi-san said you would eat whatever I would so maybe you’ll like the curry?” Akira set the plate on the table to let Morgana eat.

The cat stared at the food for a minute then looked back up at Akira to meow at him. Maybe he didn’t like curry? Akira really didn’t want to go back downstairs to get something else but if he had to he would. He was going to take care of this cat if it was the last thing he did. Which… it might be.

Akira shook his head to toss the thought out of his head then looked back at Mona again when a paw touched his hand. Akira lifted it to let Morgana slide under it but the cat was pretty talented at how he moved because the next thing Akira knew his hand was on the spoon, “Uh… are you… telling me to eat?” Akira questioned before the cat meowed loudly again and rubbed his head against Akira’s arm. “Okay?” Akira picked up the plate to eat a little. He ate a little less than half the curry and the radishes before setting it back down.

Once the plate was set down again the cat looked at it with interest before it began to eat. This cat was interestingly trained, how had Akechi managed this? Akira watched Morgana clear the rest of the plate while he drank some of the coffee Sojiro had given him. It was good coffee actually. He was more than a little surprised at that. How had he made this so good? Akira didn’t even like coffee that much before. 

“Well, I know it’s only the middle of the day but… I’m tempted to take a nap.” Akira sighed looking across the room at the bed. He’d slept in it last night but it had been Akechi who had put him in it and Akira couldn’t help the guilt he felt from sleeping in it. “God I’m a mess.” Akira muttered against the coffee cup. 

Next to him Morgana curled up against his leg and began to purr. Akira looked down at the cat with a hum and wondered what he should do. He didn’t have anything in the room to keep him entertained. Maybe just petting him would be enough? Akira carefully reached down to run his fingers along Morgana’s fur making the cat purr louder. “You’re pretty soft.” Akira noted. “Akechi-san must take really good care of you. He’s… really nice.” Akira muttered. 

Morgana lifted his head up to look at Akira and meow again. Akira almost sounded like the cat was disagreeing with him a little but he clearly was just talking back because Akira said words. No way this cat actually understood him. Akira let a sigh pass through his nose then set the coffee down before he got up to move to the bed with Morgana. 

Once he got comfortable on the bed Akira turned to face Morgana who had decided to lay near his head. “So, Akechi-san said you’re a good listener, is that true sir?” Akira asked, earning a meow in reply. “I’m sold. Promise not to tell him what I’m about to tell you?” Again Morgana replied so Akira continued, “Akechi-san saved my life yesterday. I’m pretty sure I was about to maybe… do something regrettable.” Akira started to carefully play with one of Morgana’s paws as he spoke. “But he came in and his scent was so much like Ren’s it was almost like he wasn’t gone.” 

Morgana watched Akira as he spoke. His tail moved slowly as he let Akira play with his toe beans. “Ren… He was my brother, but also my mate.” Akira admitted. “It started innocent at first. He just bonded with me to keep me safe. It was a small town and I was the only omega around for miles. We didn’t realize it when we first found out what we were though. He was an alpha, and I was an omega and we knew that omegas who got a bond were like betas almost. It made sense to do it. I mean… Living as an omega was horrible, that’s what we were always told. They had no real worth in society. All they did was have sex and make kids or tie down capable alphas. That’s exactly what I did without knowing it then. Me, a shitty omega ruined my brother’s future.”

“I let him mark me so I could still pretend I was _normal._ ” Akira laughed bitterly. “What a load of shit. Normal isn’t anything. At first things were okay, but after a few years Ren started to avoid me. I didn’t know why so I reached out to him… We started having sex after that. He was the person I was bonded to. He was my mate. It made sense and I loved him anyway. He was kind of an asshole to everyone else but he protected me. He was always there. I was never alone.” Akira took in a shuddering breath. “But now I’m alone all the time because he’s gone.”

“He’s dead.” Akira closed his eyes letting his fingers rest on top of Morgana’s paw. “And the last of his scent vanished. I’ve… I feel like I’ve been fighting so hard to keep his memory alive. I’ll have a dream now and again where I’m in a colosseum or arena or something and I see him there fighting to protect me but then the enemy is too big for him to fight alone and I have to watch him die…But suddenly he comes back after and kills it. Like it’s me keeping him alive and I torture myself by watching him die and come back over and over again...” Akira trailed off in the memory of a frequent nightmare. “After he dies I can hear him saying he’ll protect me, and he gets back up again. Eventually he kills whatever it is and he comes to my side. He leans in to whisper in my ear that I’m all around him and I just have to look for him. It’s stupid isn’t it? He’s dead.” 

Morgana let out a soft murr before he moved closer to press his forehead against Akira’s. “You’re a nice cat.” Akira smiled. “I just… I miss him. A lot.” Akira was starting to doze off a little now. “I just need to get through this and then I’ll be with him.” Akira mumbled feeling pretty sure he’d just made up his mind. He just needed to finish the task of watching Morgana for Akechi then he would find Ren in the only way he knew how.

The following morning Akira got up and went to school again as was his chore to do until he no longer had Morgana to watch over. School was boring and without the likelihood of seeing Akechi there wasn’t much of interest going on. The only bright side of things was that his final class got canceled because his teacher had to take care of their child at home. So with his early freedom Akira decided to return to Leblanc to maybe fashion a toy of some kind to play with Morgana with.

Once Akira got in his room though he felt a cold dread seep into his bones. His window was open and the cat was gone. “M-Mona?” Akira called for the cat then started to frantically look for him. He checked under everything and turned everything over until Akira was sure that Morgana had slipped out the window. This was bad. Akechi was going to get so fucking mad at him. 

Without thinking Akira rushed down stairs and out of the cafe with Sojiro trying to question where he was going. Akira had no idea where to start but he needed to find that cat. He started to run around the backstreets hoping to spot him but every time he thought he found Morgana the cat would hiss at him before running away. “Not the right pattern.” Akira mumbled after the fifth cat. There was no way he was going to find the right cat. He was going to have to tell Akechi he’d lost his cat. This was the worst. 

Why couldn’t he even manage to watch an animal? Akira didn’t remember opening the window so how had it opened? The door was locked when he came in. Did Sojiro get the key to his room to let Morgana out? Was he that petty? He didn’t seem like he cared much for Morgana so it could have been that. The idea of Sojiro letting himself into Akira’s room made him incredibly uncomfortable. Now Akira didn’t want to go home. 

“Okay, are we ready?” Akira heard a familiar voice speak from around the corner. He followed along toward that voice but before he could see anything the world around him began to distort and shift. 

Once the world settled again he was standing in the middle of a grassy field about half a mile away from the nearest and only building. “What the fuck?” Akira questioned looking around him for something but there was nothing. Not even trees from what he could see. “Okay. This is weird? Maybe I’m sleeping.” Akira suggested to himself and started to feel instantly better. If this was a dream he never lost Morgana. Sure he might have missed school but he didn’t lose Akechi’s cat. 

“Okay, this is fine. It’s just a dream.” Akira took a deep breath to calm himself down. If he just experienced the weird dream then he’d be fine. With a sigh Akira began to walk toward the colosseum to find out what was going on.

As he approached the building Akira could hear deafening cheers from inside. Something was going on. He kind of wanted to see what was going on in there. A walk around the outside of the building led Akira to only finding one entrance. A set of double doors. The cheers from the inside were reaching a new peak of loud energy as something exciting happened inside. He wanted to see.

Opening the door proved to be a mistake though as the floor under him opened up and he fell. Now, normally when he had dreams where he was falling he woke up with a start however that wasn’t the case here. Instead he fell, and fell, until he hit a slow, shift of the wall into a slide that ended with him rolling along the floor of a cell to slam into the bars making him see stars and knocking his glasses off his face.

“FUCK!” Akira shouted, holding his head to try and ease the pain away. After a few seconds the pain faded a little and he was able to find his glasses to put them back on. “This… this is a dream right?” Akira wondered before the cell he found himself in began to move. “W-what’s happening?!” Akira asked himself before the cell stopped it’s new upward movement under a ceiling.

Akira kept himself close to the floor as a muffled voice spoke from above him until at last the ceiling opened and he was pushed back out into the sun. After a moment of blindness Akira looked around to try and figure out where he was. It was the middle of the colosseum arena. 

“Kusuru-kun?” A voice behind Akira spoke, drawing Akira’s attention to a small group of people across the way. 

“That voice… Akechi-san?” Akira questioned then looked along the group. A girl with long blonde hair and a red cat mask, another girl with long orange hair and a black and green outfit, then a small black stuffed animal? Looked like a strange cat but Akira wasn’t sure from the angle he was looking at. 

“How are you in here?” Akechi questioned. His clothes were white and he wore a red cracked mask with a long nose. 

“I-- where--?” Akira glanced around again jumping when something hit the bars behind him and forced the door to open. He spun around to throw his hands up and defend himself but when he turned he was met with the sight of Ren. Akira knew it was Ren at least. There were some differences between the two of them that they knew how to point out. Ren for example had slightly darker gray eyes than Akira’s while Akira’s hair was more unruly than Ren’s. “R-Ren” Akira questioned as he felt his blood drain from his face. 

The cheering around the arena suddenly stopped completely as Ren opened the cell door and motioned for Akira to walk out to him. Akira, back to believing this was a dream, moved toward Ren with a hand outstretched to rest in Ren’s as he guided him out of the cell. Once Akira was free of the cell it sank back into the ground and out of sight. “Ren, how are you here?” 

“It’s not him!” Akechi screamed from his place on the ground as he struggled to get up. “It’s just a cognition. He’s not real!” 

“Cognition?” Akira turned his head toward Akechi but Ren caught his chin to make him look back at him again. “W-what are you?” 

“I’m whatever it is you need me to be, Aki.” Ren said, rubbing his thumb along Akira’s bottom lip. “I’m just here to protect you.”

“Why?” 

“You need to ask?” Ren laughed softly, lowering his face to Akira’s to brush their lips together. Akira felt butterflies form in his stomach at the familiar feeling. This was the best he’d felt in literal years. “I’ve always been the one to protect you, Akira. That didn’t stop.” 

“Gladiator.” Someone spoke next to them drawing Akira’s attention to a strangely dressed version of himself. “Kneel.” The other Akira commanded before Ren pulled away to do as he was ordered. “So… you found your way here.” The other Akira looked Akira over with almost a disgusted eye. 

“Who are you?” Akira frowned. 

“I’m the ruler of his palace. You can call me the Emperor. You are the true self… or you’re supposed to be.” The Emperor looked unimpressed.

“What is that supposed to mean?” Akira looked annoyed. 

“You haven’t been yourself since they hit you with that label you didn’t want.” The Emperor said as he began to circle Akira. “Once you were told you were just a weak creature meant to mate and nothing more you turned into nothing. You let your _champion,_ **my** gladiator fight your battles.” The Emperor circled one more time before stopping in front of Akira. “You let yourself get turned into a willing nightly fuck until he finally vanished, but you grew so fucking attached to him that you never even tried to recover.” 

“S-shut up!” Akira shouted. “I loved him!” 

“You did.” The Emperor smirked. “But you relied on him too much and it ruined you. You were once independent, now you’re waiting for death or someone else you can spread your legs for.” 

“I said shut up!” Akira shouted, raising a hand to slap the Emperor but before he could connect Ren stood to catch it. “Ren?” 

“Unlike you, I still have him. He’s mine.” The Emperor moved around to rest his arms around Ren’s shoulders. “He’s my gladiator. You may be the original but I’m the ruler here and my wants are law.” The Emperor withdrew from Ren to give them some space. “I don’t want you to die. If you do this place stops being real, but I can grant you your one desire. I can give you _Ren_ back. I’ll lend him to you.” The Emperor smiled. “You stay here where you won’t have to be without him, and we continue a world where every day is another bloody battle!” The Emperor turned away from them with his hands outstretched causing a roar to rip through the stands.

In response to the cheering Ren pulled Akira close to him again with a hand around his middle to bring their faces close together again. “I’ll protect you here forever more.” Ren’s lips closed in on his but before they could connect a white gloved fist connected to his face as someone else grabbed Akira by the arm to drag him backwards as Ren flew off in the other direction. When Akira finally looked at who had grabbed him a bruised Akechi had him by the arm. 

“A-Akechi-san?” Akira was almost scared of the look in Akechi’s eyes. 

“Don’t listen to that shit.” Akechi huffed. He was clearly struggling to stay on his feet but he still put himself between Akira and Ren as the ladder stood back up then spit blood out of his mouth and onto the sandly floor. “I don’t know what kind of relationship you had. I frankly don’t care, but I refuse to sit there and listen to this imitation tell you that he’ll protect you like you’re too weak to protect yourself.” 

Akira stared wide eyed at Akechi before he felt someone else at his side. When Akira looked over the woman in red staggered forward holding her arm. “Goro is right. No one can tell you that you’re too weak to stand on your own and if they do knock ‘em out!” 

“You told me last night that Goro saved your life,” A new voice said from Akira’s other side. When he looked he found that the strange stuffed cat looking creature was standing and talking. Akira wanted to scream but it seemed like an inappropriate time, “You’re really going to throw away his kindness for someone who’s dead?” 

“I’ve mourned someone like you Akira,” Akira turned back to look at the girl with familiar orange hair, “My mom died and I thought I should die too, but Goro and the others helped me realize I should live and you should too! Live on your own and not for anyone else!” 

“Thank fucking _GOD_ Ryuji’s not here. I can’t listen to you all give a speech about this shit.” Akechi groaned though Akira was sure he could hear the sound of amusement in his voice, “So, Kurusu, are you going to let what _The Emperor_ saidbe the truth, or are you going to fight?” 

“I--” Akira looked past Akechi to Ren as he drew his sword to fight them. “Ren.” Akira felt his chest tighten as he looked at Ren ready to fight them. He didn’t want to do this but did he have a choice? Akira didn’t want to watch Akechi or his friends die.

“I’ll save you Akira.” Ren promised. “Once I kill them you can just relax and let me take care of everything.” He really was going to kill them?

“No.” Akira mumbled quietly. He couldn’t let this happen.

“What was that?” The Emperor questioned. 

“No!” Akira shouted this time. “They’re right! I-I should be living my life! I shouldn’t be waiting to die because my mate--my _twin_ died.” Akira balled his hands into tight fists as he shook. “I let you protect me for so long I forgot how to protect myself. Yeah, I’m an omega, but I’m still me. I shouldn’t have let that label ruin me.” Akira looked down at the ground. “I should have been willing to still stand up for myself instead of letting Ren take care of everything. I lost myself.” Akira looked back up this time a white and black mask on his face. “I won’t just give up anymore!” Akira reached up to his mask, the action feeling natural. “I choose to fight!” 

Akira grabbed hold of his mask with a hand then pulled it off, the item coming off of his face easily, before a blue flame consumed Akira’s body replacing his borrowed clothes with a long black coat and red gloves, “This is over, Ren!” Behind Akira a red clad humanoid with large black feather wings stood as his new protector. “Come to me, Arsene!” 

“A persona?!” the woman in red sounded surprised. 

“This is good. Maybe we can actually beat him now.” the cat creature said. “I’ll cover healing.” 

“I’m ready with the navigation!” The girl behind the party summoned a large spaceship that spawned tentacles to carry her up into the ship proper. 

“Just follow my lead Kurusu!” Akechi demanded before he pulled his own mask off and summoned a white clad man looking thing, the red woman had called it a perona? “We’ll explain everything after this.”

“I’ll be counting on that.” Akira smiled at Akechi before Ren growled.

“If you refuse to let me protect you then I have no choice but to subdue you first!” Ren shouted then rolled his shoulders before he stood in an offensive stance. “Just don’t fight me too much. I don’t want to hurt you and the Emperor wants you alive.”

“That I do.” The Emperor vanished in a cloud of back shadows before reappearing in the Emperor’s seat. “The Phantom Thieves verses my champion. The second round begins… NOW!” The Emperor called motioning out with his hands which seemed to trigger Ren’s attack instinct. 

Ren ran at them with his sword drawn and ready to cut, his aim seemed to be to attack Akechi. Akira tried to think fast and drew a dagger from his coat to counter Ren, his twin quickly lessening the blow before their weapons met. 

“Akira, stay out of the way!” Ren shouted at him before he moved expertly to get behind Akira to aim a kick to his ass and make the omega lose his balance and fall forward.

“Robin Hood!” Akechi called using the opening to attack Ren and send him back with some kind of attack made of light. Akechi didn’t let him rest after that and continued to relentlessly attack him between magical attacks and some kind of melee laser sword. 

Ren took the magic attacks to the body before he countered with a fist to Akechi’s face. Ren raised his sword to strike down on a dazed Akechi but the woman in red caught the sword with her whip before pulling Ren away from Akechi so the cat thing could heal him. 

“We’re way too worn out to keep this up for long.” The navigator said. “Akira you gotta fight. Use your magic!” 

“O-okay!” Akira ran forward to get between Ren and the red woman. “Sorry Ren.” Akira apologized before Arsene threw a shadow attack at him. The blast caught Ren in the face dead on and sent him flying back into the wall of the arena by the Emperor. The impact smashed Ren into the wall and forced a cloud of sand and dust up to cover the small area around him.

“He’s suddenly weak to curse damage?” The navigator questioned. 

“No. He’s weak to Kurusu.” Akechi said as a counterpoint as the dust began to settle.

“So, you really will fight back.” The Emperor noted from his seat as he came back into view. “It seems you mean what you said. I suppose you don’t need him.” 

“I’m proud of you.” Ren said after he slid down the wall to sit on the floor. “You really _can_ defend yourself.” Why did Akira feel so sad about Ren admitting that to him?

“There may come another time when you find yourself lost again.” the Emperor said as he stood to lean against the railing and look down at them. “I pray that it doesn’t happen.” 

“What’s happening?” the cat creature questioned suspiciously. Was it worried about what might happen next? Akira couldn’t blame him.

“I’m destroying this palace.” The Emperor announced before the walls around them began to break down and the floor shook. “The original has a will to live on his own. A rebellion against his own desires you could say. One day it may return, or it may not. I think that depends on you.” The Emperor eyed Akechi. “I’ll be here. Waiting with _my_ champion. Keep an eye on him, detective.”

“Goodbye… Akira.” Ren said before he vanished in a cloud of smoke. Akira suddenly felt hollow at the sight of Ren vanishing. It felt like he had died all over again, but there was no time to mourn him. The building around them was falling apart and Akechi was yanking him by the coat to make him run. 

“Let’s go!” the woman in red shouted motioning for the party to run toward the nearest hole that formed in the wall. There was one exit and they needed to take it. Akira sprinted behind Akechi until they reached the outside to watch the colosseum collapse into the ground. Akira turned around to watch until there was nothing but a hole in the ground where the building had been. “We’re… still in the Metaverse?” 

“We didn’t steal the treasure but the palace ruler destroyed the palace himself. Interesting.” Akechi hummed looking from the hole to Akira. “Let’s get out of here.” Akechi took out a phone to hit a button before the field around them faded and they were back on the streets of Yongen-Jaya. “How are you feeling Kurusu-kun?” 

“I’m ok--ay.” Akira started to answer before a rush of exhaustion hit him like a sack of bricks. “Whoa.” Akira swayed on his feet before Akechi caught him by the shoulder. 

“Let’s head to the cafe. We can talk in your room if you’re comfortable with that.” Akechi pulled Akira’s arm around his shoulder. 

“Yeah.” Akira agreed without really thinking about it. He was tired and Akechi’s scent was making him feel safe again. 

━━━━━━━💎━━━━━━━

Winters in Shigomo were always fairly brutal. Snow tended to pile high and the means to clear the streets before it got too deep were hard to come by. A powerful storm was just on the horizon and teens were worried about going stir crazy in the impending icy lockdown. A few of them decided that the best way to entertain themselves was to pick fights with one another. At fifteen Akira and Ren still looked exactly the same and people knew Ren was an alpha. It was something to brag about. On the other hand people thought Akira was a beta which wasn’t the worst thing to happen to him. When Akira tried to explain he wasn’t Ren, his complaints fell on deaf ears.

People often fought with Ren. He was kind of an asshole and over the last two years he’d only gotten meaner and meaner. The only person Ren had even an ounce of kindness for was Akira. It was weird, Ren had always been the friendly brother when they were growing up but now that was up to Akira. It was a job Akira was struggling to keep up with this idiot in front of him screaming at him to put his fists up. The boy said Akira was just pretending not to be Ren and then threw a punch. 

Akira had only been standing up for himself, and his brother by proxy, when a teacher caught him fighting. Akira had managed to get in a few good hits and was punching the boy in the nose when the teacher pulled him back to drag him into the guidance office. Akira had been told he would need to wait for his parents but they weren’t home. They’d gone out of town on business and with the snow storm they would be gone much longer. Akira didn’t know what would happen now but he imagined he was going to be sitting in this room with bloody fists for a while.

Akira was drawn from his thoughts when he heard the door open, “Akira!” Ren called then rushed to his side. “Are you hurt? They said you were in a fight?” 

“I’m fine.” Akira looked at his brother confused. “Did they pull you out of class?” 

“Seeing that your parents are out of town we have a directive from them that your brother is in charge of you in their place.” The teacher explained as she came into the office. “Please sit Ren-kun.”

“Wait. They put him in charge? I’m the eldest--” Akira frowned. 

“He’s an alpha.” The teacher cut in. “To be honest I don’t blame your parents for putting him in charge. Omegas can’t seem to control themselves after all.” The teacher looked over her glasses at Akira as if to make it a point that she didn’t trust him. That was nice. She was at least clear with the fact she was a sexist bitch. “Now then, let’s go over the incident and the punishment.”

“This is bullshit.” Akira crossed his arms. 

“Akira…” Ren looked to his brother trying to warn him to stop before it made things worse. “Please continue.” Akira stared at Ren feeling a bit betrayed that his brother was trying to tell him to shut up. He was supposed to be on Akira’s side.

After listening to the teacher’s list of issues, some of them bullshit made up by the boy who’d attacked Akira, the teacher detailed Akira’s punishment, “I’m going to recommend a short suspension. He’ll still be expected to do his school work and have it ready to turn in after his suspension is over.” 

“There’s a storm coming soon.” Ren noted. 

“There is. So his suspension will start after the storm clears.” The teacher tapped her pen to the clipboard. “Ren-kun, I will be counting on you to take the work to him.”

“I will.” Ren promised. 

“Good. Failure to complete the assignments on time will result in expulsion.” The teacher explained. 

“That’s bullshit!” Akira snapped as he jumped to his feet. 

“Watch your mouth!” The teacher snapped. “Another outburst out of you and I’ll expell you now!” 

“Akira. Sit down and be quiet.” Ren looked at his brother with an intense stare and Akira couldn’t help but obey. Akira plopped into his seat with an angry look to the side as he waited for this humiliation to be over with.

Once the teacher was done explaining the details of Akira’s suspension and she added a paper he would be required to write in the meantime then let them go with a request that Ren keep a ‘tight leash’ on his brother. The meeting now over, Ren was asked to take Akira home now before he got into more trouble. As soon as the two of them were out of earshot of the teacher Akira turned to Ren. 

“What the _fuck_ was that? They left you in charge?! Since when?!” Akira threw his hands up into the air. 

“A while after presenting.” Ren admitted. “They wanted me to be able to take charge if something happened at school. Like if you went into heat in the middle of the day and someone took advantage of you or something.” 

“You didn’t tell me?” Akira frowned. 

“I didn’t want this to happen here.” Ren motioned between them. “You’re mad.” 

“Of course I’m fucking _mad_!” Akira fumed. “My brother is telling me that he’s in charge of me because he’s an alpha? I’m still the older one damn it!” 

“Hey I don’t like it anymore than you, not that I think the whole older thing is really relevant here, but it’s what we were told. Okay? Let’s just go home.” Ren clearly wanted to drop the topic here but Akira wasn’t ready to let it go. His parents didn’t trust him anymore. How was Ren, the more reckless between himself and Akira, the responsible one now?

“Such bullshit.” Akira shoved past Ren to head home. He kept himself a few paces ahead of Ren to make sure he didn’t have to look at his brother. When they got home Akira went to his room to lay on his bed and just be mad for a while. It wasn’t fair. He had been the oldest for so long and now he was being treated like this?

“Akira?” Ren’s voice called from the door after a few hours. “We need to get some groceries before the storm really hits but you have to come with me.”

“Fuck off!” Akira shouted but Ren opened the door anyway so Akira shot upright to glare at him. “Listen, I get that you’re the ‘ _responsible alpha_ ’ but I won’t listen to you just because they told me to.” 

“I’m not saying you have to come with me because of that. I can’t carry everything on my own! Akira you really think I’m going to feed into that alphas are superior to omegas bullshit? You’re my brother and, even if I hate it when you use it, you’re the ‘older’ one of us. I love and respect you more than that. I’m kinda pissed you think that little of me.” 

Akira stared at his brother for a long time after his little speech and slowly felt shame sink in. After a minute Akira lowered his eyes to his bed with guilt all over his face. “I’m sorry. I was just… mad.” 

“I was too. I… I wanted to find the prick that fought with you and beat the shit out of him.” Ren folded his arms tightly across his chest. “I don’t like people touching you.” 

“Uh-huh.” Akira looked annoyed still but he couldn’t be mad. 

“Akira…” Ren said as if he was going to say more but seemed to change the subject, “Nevermind. Can we just… get what we need?” ‘

“Yeah. Let me change.” Akira climbed off his bed to change. Only pausing when he felt as if Ren was still watching him. “What?” 

“N-nothing.” Ren turned away quickly to leave Akira alone. He paused to look one more time before he closed the door to give Akira his privacy. 

“Weirdo.”

After their shopping trip the twins managed to get back to the house before the worst of the snowstorm managed to hit. After the food was put away and dinner was done the two of them sat on the sofa watching TV. The wind outside howled loudly and the cold threatened to seep into the house, only being kept at bay by the space heater set up in the living room to fight it back in conjunction with the home heating system.

“This show is boring…” Ren complained about halfway through some documentary they found channel surfing. “There’s going to be something else.” Ren stole the remote to start clicking thought channels again. 

“If you keep this up I’m just going to go to bed.” Akira rolled his eyes. 

“Oh? Could I come with you?” Ren teased making Akira roll his eyes again. “What?” 

“We haven’t slept in the same bed for like… a year and a half. That isn’t long I know but still.” Akira had gotten better about lightning storms so he didn’t need to be comforted so much now. 

“And I wish you’d let me in your bed more often.” Ren wiggled a foot over to tap Akira’s leg. 

“You need a significant other or something.” Akira shoved Ren’s foot away.

“Why?” Ren asked so Akira looked over at him expecting some kind of doofy look on his face but he looked completely serious. 

“W-well, because we’re brothers, duh.” Akira explained looking away at the TV again. Ren had stopped surfing in his staring at Akira now so some ghost movie played on the screen now. “Can you change it?” Akira did not want to watch a ghost movie. He was convinced their house was haunted after their grandpa died in what was now his room and watching movies like this only made him paranoid.

Ren did not change the movie as requested. When Akira turned to ask again he found that Ren was still looking at him with the remote in the hand furthest from Akira. He wasn’t going to change it was he? With an irritated sigh Akira got up on his knees to move over to Ren and reach across him for the remote. “Give.” 

Ren, being the little shit he always was, decided instead to hold the remote even further away so Akira had to reach even more. Once he was practically laying across Ren to try grabbing the remote at last, Ren reached a hand up to slip cold fingers under Akira’s shirt to press against the base of his spin. At the same time Ren pressed his nose into Akira’s neck to inhale. The actions made Akira yelp and lose his balance so he crashed down into Ren’s chest. He was about to fall off of him completely before Ren dropped the remote to hold Akira with both arms now. 

“Careful.” Ren said. 

“W-what are you doing?” Akira questioned pushing up from Ren who wouldn’t let him escape.

“I’m just smelling you.” Ren insisted. 

“Well stop.” Akira tried again to pull away. 

“You’re scared.” Ren commented as if it explained away why Ren was doing what he was doing. 

“I don’t like ghost movies. You know that. I just want to change the channel.” Akira explained but now he just wanted to leave the awkward situation and go to bed. Being this close to Ren was making him feel things he shouldn’t be for his brother.

“You know… earlier today when I heard you got into a fight I wanted to track down the guy who did it.” Ren removed a hand from Akira’s side to hold his face. “He hit you and left a mark.” Ren frowned at the black eye forming on Akira’s face. “I’m… I’m the only one allowed to mark you.” 

At these words Akira flushed bright red, “W-what? Ren that’s…” Akira wanted to pull away but he was suddenly very aware of how close they were and how much his body was not cooperating with him. 

“I want to kiss you.” Ren said seriously. “But I won’t do anything you don’t want me to. Tell me to stop now and I won’t do it again.”

Akira met Ren’s eyes and felt like the next thing he said was going to seriously change the relationship they had. If he told Ren no now he was worried that Ren would pull away from him completely. On the other hand if he didn’t tell Ren no they wouldn’t just be brothers anymore would they? 

Akira’s stomach was in knots as he debated what he should do as he stared into Ren’s eyes. A minute passed, with Ren being more patient as Akira had ever seen him, before Akira licked his lips and nodded. “Okay.” In the background the ghost movie continued to play, a woman screamed in fear but Akira could barely hear it over the hammering of his heart in his chest.

Ren didn’t say another word as he pulled Akira’s face closer to him and lifted his lips to meet with Akira’s. The moment their lips connected Akira felt as if it was… right. It wasn’t weird like he expected it to be. Rather as the kiss continued he felt more and more relaxed. Akira slowly allowed his body to relax on top of Ren’s until all of his weight was on his brothers so he could move his hands up to tangle in Ren’s hair.

Without thinking about it Akira opened his mouth to allow the kiss to deepen and without missing a beat Ren’s tongue slid into his mouth. It wasn’t nearly enough now. Akira let a light moan sound from his throat as he shifted to sit more comfortably in Ren’s lap, the new angle making it easier to deepen the kiss once again.

“Aki,” Ren muttered after a short separation to get some air, “I love you.” Ren touched their noses together before kissing him again. This time he flipped their positions to put himself on top to start running his hands up Akira’s sides and under his shirt. 

“Ren!” Akira gasped when his brother’s knee rubbed against him. This was bad. Akira was getting really turned on. Ren’s scent was driving him crazy and he wanted more. That kiss had apparently only been the precursor to something Akira hadn’t realized he wanted. “Ren I want you.” Akira broke their kiss to press their foreheads together with a sigh. 

“You… you can’t say something like that and expect me to hold myself back.” Ren mumbled against Akira’s lips.

“Who said I wanted you to?” Akira jabbed back.

“Fuck it.” Ren growled then pulled back. Akira was disappointed Ren separated from him however he wasn’t disappointed for very long when Ren knelt down to lift him up in a princess carry. Akira wrapped his arms around Ren’s neck to press his nose into the nape as his brother carried him out of the living room to his bedroom. 

Once in Ren’s room the alpha dropped his brother onto the bed and quickly proceeded to undress them both. Akira sat up after his shirt was pulled off to press kisses to Ren’s stomach and chest while he worked to get Ren’s belt off and push his pants down. Honestly Akira had no idea what he was doing, but it felt right. Ren seemed to be responding to it at least from the way his boxers tented after Akira pulled his pants all the way down.

Ren looked down at Akira as his brother slowly pulled his boxers down to expose his erection. “F-fuck you’re really serious.” Ren gasped just as a shudder passed through his body. 

“I said it didn’t I?” Akira took hold of his brother to start stroking him as he smirked. “Unless you wanted to back down now?” 

“Tease.” Ren said then pushed Akira back to force him to let go of his cock so he could climb on top of his brother. “Do you know how long I’ve wanted to fuck you?” Ren questioned and Akira couldn’t even think of a witty answer to give him so he just stared at his twin with a raised eyebrow. “For at least the last year. It’s been so hard to hold myself back every time someone got close to you.”

“Seriously?” Akira was surprised by this. No one had even looked his way at school and now Ren was telling him he flat out wanted to fuck him? 

“Yes. Akira we bonded. I know I did it so you could have a normal kind of school life but… _fuck_. It’s been so hard to resist throwing you against the nearest wall to kiss you in the halls and show everyone that _I_ claimed you. You know?” Ren leaned over Akira to nose against the nape of his neck. “You’re _mine_.” 

“I… I know I am.” Akira shivered unsure if it was because the room was chilly or because he was just excited for what was going to happen.

“I’ll take care of you so just relax.” Ren moved his mouth along Akira’s skin to press another kiss to his lips. After a short kiss Ren trailed more of them along Akira’s neck and chest all the way down to his hips where Ren finally pulled off Akira’s pants to expose his erection. Ren kissed along Akira’s inner thigh a few times before sliding his tongue along the underside of his cock, making the omega moan out his name.

With Akira’s moans of encouragement Ren wrapped his lips around Akira’s cock and began to suck him off while a finger pressed into Akira’s entrance. Either Ren had looked up what he was doing or he was naturally good, because Akira couldn’t stop himself from moaning Ren’s name. If their parents had been home it would have been obvious what they were doing from the sounds alone.

Ren continued to blow his twin, adding in a new finger after a few minutes before he made a scissoring motion to loosen him up more and more. With a cry of Ren’s name and a full body shudder Akira came into his twin’s mouth without warning. “Sorry.” Akira mumbled through the haze but Ren wasn’t done with him. He continued to suck Akira again to get him wound up again until he was hard again. “R-Ren I just need a second.”

“No.” Ren growled as he shifted his position again to hang over Akira, his one hand still down fingering Akira open. “I want to put it in.” 

“O-okay.” Akira was sensitive from his climax but he still wanted Ren. The thought of his brother fucking him made Akira shiver in anticipating.

“Fuck you’re hot.” Ren hissed as he removed his fingers from Akira. He wasn’t in heat but that didn’t stop Akira’s body from making his hole slick for Ren. Maybe he was in heat and he didn’t know it? Shit this was bad. It was too late now. Ren pressed his cock against Akira’s hole and was already starting to push the head in. “I love you, Akira.” Ren said once again before he finally pushed into his brother. 

Akira arched his back as Ren forced his entire length into Akira all at once. It was uncomfortable at first but Akira had no time to think about that when Ren began to move. He had about as much self control as Akira did at this point, which was none. Akira left his legs wide open to give Ren all the room he needed to thrust deeper with each movement of his hips. 

“Ren, Ren!” Akira cried his twin’s name over and over feeling the slow build of another climax coming. His hands found Ren’s shoulders to hold onto him and move his hips with Ren’s. “I--I’m gunna cum. Ren--!” Akira moaned as he dug his nails into Ren’s skin and curled his toes into the bedding. 

“Aki, Akira you feel so good. Fu-fuck!” Ren growled and lowered his mouth to the bond mark he’d made so long ago now to sink his teeth in again and leave a new fresh mark. Akira could feel his brother release inside him as he pushed in as far as he could until he stilled and released his bite.

After the two of them came down from their respective climaxes Ren peppered kisses over Akira’s face and neck before rolling to the side to gather his brother up close to hug him to his chest and kiss the back of his neck. “I love you.” Ren mumbled against his neck.

“I love you too.” Akira placed his hands on Ren’s to curl up tighter and press more of his back against Ren. He did love him. He knew it was wrong, they were brothers, but they were bonded together. 

Ren was his mate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ky: Akira gets his persona and so begins his phantom thief life~ My favorite part of this chapter was detailing cognitive Ren as this possessive mate and playing around with the idea that they could trap the ruler of the palace inside it. It's a tempting offer for Akira since Ren exists here. Sad boy hours.
> 
> Anyway, I've been in a metal slump lately but i'm still ahead on chapters. i just need to hit another up swing. @.@ wish me luck. and now from my beta/co-author. 
> 
> Bri: "Hey guys. I exist. Figured I'd say hi to you all here at least once. Midterms suck that's why the chapter is a little late. I'm really enjoying all your guys comments so far it's really encouraging to me and Ky. Shes having a great time with this fic and so am I. Hope you enjoyed that flashback ;)"
> 
> Preview:
> 
> _You should join us!” Morgana practically shouted._
> 
> _“Join you?” Akira looked back at Morgana._
> 
> _“Become a Phantom Thief with us! You awakened to your persona, you can join us.” Morgana explained what he meant. “We always need more help and with Ryuji gone we’re sorely lacking in combat power.”_
> 
> _“You… you would want me to join you even though I’m an omega?” Akira felt as if this cat was asking something without really thinking about what it meant._
> 
> _“So what if you’re an omega?” Akechi asked, “You’ve awakened like Mona said and even if you’re omega you have the power. If you’re willing to fight, that's more reason to join us. It could give you a focus for now and you’re always welcome to remove yourself from it if you desire to do so.”_


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akira learns about the people behind the masks of the Phantom Thieves and what they seek to do. Then he's asked if he wants to join them. He doesn't know about any of that but a weird dream and a chatty cat make things more complicated than he cares for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> bloop

Heading back to the cafe was a short walk. Sojiro only looked mildly worried when Akechi and Akira walked in with the former holding the latter close to keep him upright. Sojiro only raised an eyebrow but said nothing when the two of them, the two girls, and the cat all went upstairs. Akechi set Akira down on the bed to let him rest while the others awkwardly stood around the room. 

“Do you feel okay?” Akechi asked once Akira turned over to half lay down on the bed while his legs hung over the side. 

“Just dizzy.” Akira admitted turning his head enough to look at the people now in his room. “Who are you people?” 

“Well, you already know me,” Futaba motioned over herself with an exaggerated bow, “and you know Mona, so really you just don’t know this tall drink of water.” Futaba motioned at the blonde woman.

“I’m Ann Takamaki.” The blonde woman introduced herself. 

“That’s not quite all there is to it.” Akechi looked to the girls then to Akira again. “Can we sit and talk about what happened today?” 

“Shouldn’t we let him rest?” Ann questioned. 

“You can sit.” Akira answered as he forced himself to sit up and look around. “I want to know what that place was. Why was Ren there?” 

“I think the important thing to explain is that the version of Ren you saw in that place wasn’t real.” Akechi started, “Do you know anything about cognitive psience?” Akira stared at Akechi for a minute trying to even define what he was talking about but when nothing came up he shook his head. “Alright, to sum it up as simply as possible; cognition refers to the concept of what humans perceive as the world and what they see as reality.” Akechi explained which Akira sort of understood but not as well as he would have liked. Akechi seemed to know that what he said made little sense so he continued, “It can also refer to what a person interprets people or society as. This can give certain things forms based on those perceptions. Like the place we were just in. It’s called a palace, and in those palaces exist shadow selves. A palace takes form based on a ruler’s cognition. For you, you see, or _saw_ , the world as a colosseum where your only defender was your brother.”

“You put so much faith in your brother that he was incredibly strong. He had no weaknesses and all he wanted to do was protect you. In effect your shadow self was simply a figurehead.” Slowly what Akechi was saying was making more and more sense but at the same time there was an issue about what even the world they were in _was_ at all. “The shadow self may be identical to a person in some ways, but the personality or the physical capabilities can be vastly different from the original. At least on the surface,” Akechi continued while Futaba and Ann got comfortable, “So that’s why the version of yourself that you met in there was so harsh. He knew things about you that would make you say or do things that he wanted. On top of that, the version of Ren in there was what we call a cognition. It’s not to be confused with a shadow self, though one's shadow self can also take on properties based on other people's interpretation of the person. So that’s why your cognition of Ren was protective and more willing to fight us than your shadow self.” 

“Is any of this even sticking?” Ann asked as she pet Morgana. 

“Even I’m confused and I know what’s going on.” Futaba teased. “I thought you were going to be simple about it Goro. Geez.” 

“You do it then.” Akechi folded his arms tightly across his chest. 

“The Emperor was your shadow self, a version of yourself that acts as the true self and knows your darkest secrets,” Morgana spoke. Akira nodded at first before realizing that it was the _cat_ talking. Akira clenched his jaw so he wouldn’t start questioning it right now but it was hard, “The gladiator, Ren, was a cognition that you made up of him. He wasn’t real, meanwhile a shadow is. The difference between a shadow and a cognition is that the shadow is part of you, the ‘real self’ as some might call it. A soul maybe. On the other hand, a cognition is just your interpretation of that person.”

“I… think I get it?” Akira stared at Morgana for a minute, still not sure about a cat talking but after watching a whole building sink into the ground and everything prior to that a talking cat wasn’t the strangest thing.

“So, what was that place? The palace?” Akira asked. “It couldn’t be part of the real world.” 

“It’s not, it's in a reality called the Metaverse.” Ann said next as she poked on her phone a little. She then stood to move over to Akira and show him her phone. Akira leaned back from her to try and maintain some distance while eyeing Ann’s phone, “See that red eye app? We use it to go into the Metaverse. There we can interact with a palace and it’s ruler and change their heart.” 

“Change… their heart?” Akira said slowly, looking from Ann’s phone to Akechi then back again. “A change of heart… are you…?” 

“The Phantom Thieves, yes.” Akechi confirmed with a bit of a smile. He seemed rather proud of himself now. If Akira wasn’t so tired he would have probably laughed at the irony of the fact that Akechi was a detective but also a Phantom Thief.

“So...you guys are the Phantom Thieves?” Akira asked again. 

“Yep.” Morgana jumped up onto the bed to look up at Akira. “We change the hearts of those who think they have no options left in life and show them a better way.”

“So…” Akira said slowly looking from the cat to Akechi, “You just go in and, what, beat up cognitions?” 

“Well, uh, no.” Futaba fixed her glasses, “We look for the treasure to steal it. A treasure is like, ground zero of twisted desires, and suicidal thoughts are kinda twisted you know? Like, you have to think yourself into that hole so we make it our job to help you or others like you see a better way.”

“Okaaaay… you just seek out people you think are suicidal and… change their mind? Sorry, I mean change their heart?” Akira was confused. What was the point of doing things like this? Sure it kept people alive but what gave them the right to think they knew better? Akira was a little bitter. 

“Sort of. It’s a little more in depth than that.” Ann took a step back and Akira was glad. Did any of these people know what the fuck they were actually doing? There was also the fact that he really didn’t want this girl being close to him. It wasn’t hard for Akira to pick up on Ann’s alpha scent with her this close to him. If she wore any scent blockers it was late enough in the day where it had worn out so all Akira could smell was woodsmoke. Akira continued to frown hoping that the clear displeasure of her being near him would give her a hint. He wouldn’t actually _say_ anything but he would look unhappy.

Ann wasn’t looking at him but Akechi seemed to be as he cleared his throat to draw attention to him, “It’s been a longer day than any of us expected. Why don’t we split up and regroup tomorrow?” Akechi suggested. “Besides that, I think after that awakening Kusuru-kun needs some sleep.”

“Yeeeeah, I kind of thought that we would have done something like, a quick look and leave. My agent is going to kill me.” Ann frowned. “I’ll go now. See you guys tomorrow.”

“I got a raid to get to,” Futaba looked at her phone, “and I need game fuel before I head home.” Futaba jumped to her feet to head out, Ann following behind her. “Sojiroooooo, curry!” 

Akira watched as Ann closed the door before he turned his eyes to Akechi who didn’t look like he was going to get up to leave just yet. He wasn’t sure what was going on but Akira felt impending doom nonetheless. They’d all seen Ren and heard his ‘shadow’ or whatever talk. They knew that Akira and his brother had been in a sexual relationship. At this point Akira was just waiting for the guillotine to drop.

“You probably think I’m disgusting.” Akira looked down at the floor after nearly three minutes passed with nothing said.

“Because you and your brother?” Akechi asked, earning a nod before he continued, “I said it before and I’ll say it again, I don’t care what kind of relationship you had with him. As far as I can tell it was something you wanted, you were two consenting people and that’s all that should matter. Fuck anyone else who says otherwise.” Akechi explained and Akira felt instant relief through his entire body down to his fingertips. 

“You… you really don’t think badly of me for it?” Akira asked. He felt the relief but there was no denying how scared he was about Akechi taking it back.

“I won’t repeat myself.” Akechi stated firmly. He was a bit cold about it but Akira was actually glad for it. The chill to his words made Akira think he was at least honest.

“I--sorry. I just didn’t expect anyone to ever kind of… accept it?” Akira rubbed his forearm nervously. “Thank you.” 

“You don’t have to thank me. As long as you wanted it then it doesn’t bother me.” Akechi offered Akira a soft and understanding smile. Akira felt another wave of relief hit him and he let out a soft sigh to relax again. When Akechi smiled like that Akira couldn’t help feeling even better. Shit. 

After a minute, Akira looked up from the floor to Akechi, “We bonded almost as soon as we found out I was an omega. He was an alpha so it couldn’t have been more perfect.” Akira admitted what Akechi had probably already put together, “The town I’m from is... tiny. Back then I was just scared I wouldn’t have anyone to play with anymore. I’d heard from ‘friends’ at the time that their parents wouldn’t even let them play with anyone they knew was an omega. So my brother offered to bond with me so I could still live a normal life. We’d learned in sex ed that omegas were practically indistugishable from betas when bonded so it made sense.” Akira picked at his nails trying to keep himself occupied as he talked, “I found out that in my town any time a family had an omega in that town they tended to leave. There wasn’t a good track record of omegas being treated with literally any respect there.”

“My parents didn’t want to leave though. They were both born and raised there and my family had all kinds of money and status there. Leaving in shame with an omega son? They weren’t about to do that. They pushed suppressants and scent blockers on me as fast as they could.” Akira rubbed the side of his neck just over Ren’s bond mark, “When I didn’t go into heat like normal or release a noticeable scent they were pleased. They got to pretend I was a beta. Easy life and no shame. I think they were hoping they ruined me biologically by pushing it on me so fast. They didn’t know that I bonded with Ren so all the stuff that goes with that was going on.” 

“I so you bonded with your brother to avoid discrimination. It’s not the first time I’ve heard of it.” Akechi nodded.

“Yeah, at first it was just a bond and nothing else. But as we got older, and with my parents' work they were often away from home, one thing led to another and we just… started sleeping together.” Akira tried to word it innocently but there was nothing innocent about it. “We kept together for a few years until he vanished.” 

“You said he was dead?” Akechi was valid in asking.

“Probably is. When people go missing around my town if they aren’t found in a week they’re probably dead in the forest somewhere. It was dangerous around the mountainside and when he went missing we had a lot of mudslides.” Akira explained with a bitter smile. “It was assumed he was in the woods and got buried in a slide. We’ll never find his body.” 

“I’m sorry for your loss.” Akechi looked at him with pity. 

“Well, after he died, I just kind of… lost myself. My parents didn’t want me, they only bothered to keep me around because they were proud of their alpha son, and Ren refused to let them get rid of me.” Akira twisted his bangs. “After Ren vanished I managed to finish high school before they decided they had enough of me. I had nowhere to go though. I worked whatever odd jobs I could in town to get money to pay someone for a room to live in, and stole any of Ren’s clothes I could from the house before I was locked out.” 

“So you could still have his scent with you.” Akechi seemed to understand why without Akira saying it outright.

“Yeah, I thought that it would be the only thing to keep me going. When things just got harder and harder I learned how right I was. That day you found me crying in here I had just lost the last of his scent.” Akira explained feeling a light chill travel up his spine. “It’s… terrifying to lose the last piece of someone that you’d been holding onto.” Akira let out a shuddering sigh. “You figured out that I was suicidal then didn’t you? Thinking back on it I didn’t really try to hide what I was thinking did I? I guess I gave you all you needed to decide I was someone you’d help. I just don’t understand why me though? I just got here. There had to be others.” 

“Well, to give a few reasons I noticed you, you showed up here with Maruki. He’s one of the founders for PILLOW. Just knowing that and knowing the work they did up here I figured you were probably an omega. I was keeping an eye on you just in case pretty much as soon as I saw you.”

“So then you gave me your… talking cat so you could confirm… something?” Akira slowly looked down at Morgana.

“I am not a cat!” Morgana stated firmly. “I am human hope given physical form!” 

“Hope?” Akira raised an eyebrow. Was this a joke?

“What he is isn’t really important, but you’re right. I had you watch Morgana because we needed to learn more about you so we could get your keywords to get into your palace and look around.” Akechi explained using more terms Akira didn’t know about but he wasn’t going to ask. Now that the stress of everything was over he just wanted to curl up and sleep. “We just meant to do recon today but things got out of hand.” Akechi explained. “I apologize for tricking you with Mona.” 

“We were just trying to save you.” Morgana explained. 

“Save me…” Akira repeated. “I still don’t know if I appreciate it or not. It’s hard to go on without your bond mate…” 

“I wouldn’t know how it feels personally but…” Akechi looked around the room then to Akira. “My mother had someone she was bonded to. He discarded her rather than take responsibility. When I presented alpha she couldn’t stand to have me around anymore. My scent and my father’s scent were too similar to her, so she sent me away.” Akira watched Akechi as he remembered the detective telling him about his mother killing herself. 

“You want to save people from doing what your mother did.” Akira said without thought. 

“That’s right.” Goro confirmed without so much as flinching. 

“So… what happens now?” Akira asked. “Do you keep an eye on me still or let me go?” 

“I don’t want to make you feel like you’re still being watched. You’re free to live your own life. We just wanted to give you the chance to live it without thinking your only choice left was to die.” Akechi explained, “Without sounding like some daytime TV show, but you should think about what Ren would want you to do. I don’t know him, but I doubt he’d want you to die.” 

“He wouldn’t.” Akira said slowly, trying to actually think on what Ren would say to him.

“So I propose you live and just figure out what you want to do.” Akechi finally relaxed his arms then moved to stand up. “And I’ll still be around if you need a push.” 

“Thank you.” Akira said with a sad smile. 

“You should join us!” Morgana practically shouted. 

“Join you?” Akira looked back at Morgana. 

“Become a Phantom Thief with us! You awakened to your persona, you can join us.” Morgana explained what he meant. “We always need more help and with Ryuji gone we’re sorely lacking in combat power.”

“You… you would want me to join you even though I’m an omega?” Akira felt as if this cat was asking something without really thinking about what it meant.

“So what if you’re an omega?” Akechi asked, “You’ve awakened like Mona said and even if you’re omega you have the power. If you’re willing to fight, that's more reason to join us. It could give you a focus for now and you’re always welcome to remove yourself from it if you desire to do so.”

A desire to fight. Akira wasn’t sure he had that. For the larger part of his life now he’d been told to behave himself and keep his head down. He was now being asked if he wanted to fight against that? Akira wondered if he really was allowed.

“Kurusu-kun,” Akechi called to him to draw his attention once more before taking something out of his pocket. He made his way over to Akira to hold out a white handkerchief, “You can have this.” 

“N-no. I can’t-” Akira tried to push the cloth back but Akechi just put it on his head. 

“If my scent keeps you calm I can stand to leave something with you.” Akechi turned to walk away. “I’ll see you in class tomorrow Kurusu-kun. Get some rest.” Akechi said before he left the room and shut the door behind him before Akira could argue back.

“I don’t need this!” Akira ripped the handkerchief off his head. He tried to get up to chase Akechi and give him back his handkerchief but the second Akira put pressure on his feet he felt too weak to stand. He slid off of the bed to the floor where he sat leaned against the mattress as he debated dragging himself back onto it.

“You should give up trying to fight him. He’ll keep shoving things on you.” Morgana explained as he jumped off the bed to look up at Akira. “He spent a long time hating his scent, so you telling him that you like it and find it comforting? He’s going to _spoil_ you with it. He won’t admit it but I know him pretty well and he’s going to cling to the idea that his scent isn’t completely disgusting.”

Akira wanted to argue that he didn’t want Akechi’s pity or charity but if what Morgana was saying was true then that wasn’t all it was. Akira finding Akechi’s scent comforting wasn’t just good for him, it was also healing for Akechi. “Shit.”

“If you hate it too much you can tell him to back off and he’ll listen eventually. He’s a little overbearing but he’s not the kind to just flat out ignore your boundaries.” Morgana began to clean himself. “So, do you want me to leave or can I stay here tonight?” 

Akira was only half listening to Morgana as the cat spoke. His eyes were on the handkerchief Akechi had left him. It was just a simple white one at least he thought it was simple until he pushed a corner of it over to find a monogrammed ‘A’ similar to the one on Akechi’s briefcase. Akira couldn’t believe that in less than a week his life had changed this much. What would Ren have thought if he saw Akira like this?

“Akira?” Morgana repeated to draw Akira’s attention to him. 

“Huh?” 

“Can I stay here or should I leave?” 

“Oh, you can stay.” Akira answered. “You already know about the worst of me.” Akira turned to try climbing back onto the bed. After a few minutes of effort he finally managed to get comfortable while holding the handkerchief to his chest. He didn’t want to hold it to his face with Morgana watching him. “God, you all know the worst about me…” 

“You mean about your brother?” Morgana climbed back onto the bed again. “Goro had it right. We’re not going to judge you.” 

“You say that but,” Akira frowned deeply before he turned over to hide his face from Morgana, “I don’t think I was worth all the trouble.” 

“Being worth it isn’t the point. We help people, you needed help. Simple as that.” Morgana walked along the bed to sit next to Akira’s head. “I’ll be here if you need anything. I can yell at Sojiro or get Futaba.”

“Sure.” Akira didn’t really care. He wanted to sleep. Maybe in his dreams he would see Ren again. He’s seen him in the Metaverse but that wasn’t enough. Akira wanted Ren back.

He slowly moved the handkerchief up to his face so he could catch Akechi’s scent, the one so similar to Ren’s, then began to drift off to sleep.

━━━━━━━♟️━━━━━━━

The sound of a piano was the first thing Akira was conscious of when he opened his eyes next. He was no longer in his room above Leblanc. He was in a void of sorts. He sat in a chair facing a man sitting at a desk with a girl next to him. The man himself had a long nose and eyes so large Akira felt they were about to fall out of his head. The girl next to him was dressed in blue with long white blonde hair and yellow eyes.

“Welcome to the Velvet Room.” The man said after a short exchange of staring. As he spoke Akira heard something move behind him. When he turned to look he realized he wasn’t in an empty void, there were cubes of black and white all around him hanging in the air. His eyes were drawn next to objects of different shapes floating in tandem with the cubes. When Akira actually focused on them he could make out the shape of a horse head for one piece while another looked like a castle of some kind. “It seems your board has broken in your absence.” 

“My… board?” Akira looked back at the man. 

“Yes. Before you was once a magnificent chess board but now it lays in ruin. Your heart is a reflection of this room after all.” The man explained motioning around them at the void. “We have waited some time for you to arrive. We thought you might have gotten lost on your path and sent a guide to try leading you here. I’m glad to see you could make it in the end.” 

“Who are you?” Akira asked, eyeing the man suspiciously then the girl. 

“Ah, yes. My manners are lacking at this time aren’t they? My name is Igor and I am the master of this room. To my left is your attendant, I will allow her to introduce herself.” Igor looked to the girl before she bowed deeply. 

“My name is Lavenza. My role in this room is to manage your compendium and issue you challenges to complete so you might awaken to your full potential.” Lavenza explained with a smile.

“I believe that you have met Morgana already.” Igor spoke again before the outline of a black cat formed out of thin air before Morgana as a cat settled on Igor’s desk, “He will remain at your side going forward. It was his task to find the Trickster and guide him on his path. What that path becomes is entirely up to you.” 

“He’s the Trickster?” Morgana questioned not seeming at all concerned he was in a dream world. “I didn’t feel a ping or anything! How was I supposed to know?” 

“Silence Morgana. You did what you needed to. He is here now. Allow me to speak.” Igor reached over to give Morgana some comforting pets to try and calm him down.

“Sorry,” Morgana sat down to let Igor pet him.

“So...what am I supposed to do?” Akira frowned. The cat seeming to share his dream was weird but it was kind of pointing him toward believing this wasn’t a dream at all. It was hard to decide.

“As you can see from the room the pieces of the board have scattered. As you form bonds with people around you pieces will return to place. You’ve already begun the restoration of one.” Igor motioned just before one of the white cubes moved from the air to settle next to him and lock into place. Once it was set a bishop piece set down next to him with the roman numeral VIII carved into the base. “Seek out more connections to rebuild the board.” Igor motioned with his hand again before another three white cubes lined up in front of the bishop space leaving room for black squares for later. 

“Why me?” Akira asked.

“You have an amazing power. The power to hold more than one persona at a time. You have yet to fully tap into this amazing power and it may be difficult to grasp however when it is time you will be able to gain unbelievable power.” Igor snapped his gloved hand before a spread of cards appeared before Akira across the void. “With your power you can fuse personas into even stronger ones to help you on your journey.” Igor twisted his wrist to make the cards spin around one another before a flash of light formed them into one. “Normally a guest of this room enters into a contract but you are unique and are here regardless of a contract.” 

Igor flicked his wrist once before sending the single card toward Akira where it landed in his open palm before glowing white before turning into a key. “What do I do with this?” Akira asked, turning the key over to inspect it.

“That key will allow you into the Velvet Room as often as you wish.” Lavenza spoke now. “When you come here I will assist you in anything you might need. When you return to the waking world please give Morgana my warmest regards.” 

“Our time is coming to a close for now, but we will meet again.” Igor nodded just before Akira suddenly felt exhausted once again. Without meaning to Akira dipped his head down and fell back into a deep sleep.

━━━━━━━💎━━━━━━━

“If you try to send him away I’m leaving too.” Ren’s voice spoke clearly and firmly from the living room one late afternoon after Akira finally came down from one of his rare heats. He was coming out to tell them he was okay and to bathe but he stopped at the end of the hall to just listen. 

“Ren, you know you can’t do that.” Their mother spoke with an almost sarcastic tone. “You’ll just be brought back.” 

Ren was silent for a while before he spoke again, “If you try to get rid of him I will not only go with him, I will _meticulously_ set you up for the charge of abusing us both.” Ren sounded confident now.

“You need to work on your supposed threats _boy_.” Their dad said before the sound of shifting fabric signaled that he was probably standing but before he could take a step there was a shout, “Hey what are you doing?!” 

The sound of something shattering and water splashing was the next thing Akira could make out before a panicked scream from his mother followed. When Akira peeked out from around the corner he watched Ren push his hair back out of his face to show a bleeding cut above his right eye. The blood dripped down his face around his eye before dripping off of his chin. “I’m not fucking bluffing. If you try to get rid of Akira I’ll make sure you two end up in jail first.” 

“He’s just a stupid omega! He’s not worth this much trouble!” Their father shouted.

“He’s your son and my brother!” Ren shouted back letting his hair fall over his cut. “Just because you two are ashamed of him doesn’t mean I am! I will do _anything_ to protect him. Even from you!” 

“This is outrageous. We’re being held hostage by our own child.” Their mother sobbed. 

“I’m not holding you hostage! I’m just making you raise _both_ the children you gave birth to. Don’t worry, as soon as I’m old enough I’ll take Akira off your hands.” Ren glared at them both. “Until then, he stays with me. You two can carry on with your long business trips and working vacations away from home. I’ll keep him safe and keep your secret from getting out. Now, I’m going to go check on my brother.” Ren turned away and Akira ducked quickly back out of sight before scrambling back to his room. 

Once in his room Akira dug back under his blankets to curl up and try to pretend he didn’t see or hear anything that had just transpired. There was a moment where Akira wondered if his parents had stopped Ren from going to him but that thought passed when his door opened and Ren stepped in. “Akira, are you awake?” Ren called before touching the lump that was Akira.

“Yes.” Akira answered quietly. 

“I saw you, you know?” Ren turned to sit on the edge of his bed. “I was hoping you were still too out of it to be up.” 

“They hate me.” Akira mumbled into his sheets. 

“Fuck them.” Ren said sharply. “We have one another, we don’t need anyone else. Not even them.” Akira slowly pulled the covers off of his head to look at his brother. “Just two and a half more years and I can get us both out of here.” 

“Where would we go?” Akira questioned.

“Some big city. Yokohama, Nagoya, Tokyo, we have all kinds of options.” Ren reached over to Akira to move more of the blankets out of the way. “We won’t be looked down on there.”

“You’re still bleeding.” Akira said up to look as blood trailed down from Ren’s forehead. 

“Shit.” Ren reached up to try and just rub it away. 

“Bring the kit and I’ll clean it.” Akira requested. He didn’t want to leave his room again right now while his parents were home. He couldn’t bear to face them. Ren agreed and left to get the first aid kit. While he was gone Akira opened the window to let in some fresh air and pushed his blankets out of the way. Once Ren returned Akira took it from him then guided him to the bed, “Sit.”

“Yes sir.” Ren plopped down with his hands on the bed as he waited for Akira to start his work. Comfortable silence fell between them as Akira dabbed over the cut with antiseptic. He had just put the bandaid over the cut when they both heard a door close in the house and a car start. “Are they both leaving?” Ren asked. 

Akira left his brother for a moment to look out the window just as their parents' car pulled out of the driveway then left with both of them in the car. “Yeah, it’s both of them. Wonder where they're going to go?”

“Who cares?” Ren spoke. He was right behind Akira now. He wrapped his arms around Akira’s middle to press the omega to his chest and bury his nose in the nape of Akira’s neck. “Having them here all weekend was driving me crazy anyway.” 

“Ren wait--” Akira got his twin to release him enough so he could turn to his brother and look at his face, “What you did in there… that was too far.”

“They were trying to tell me they wanted to get rid of you Akira.” Ren frowned. “They weren’t taking my threat to run away seriously so I did what I thought best.” 

“Yeah I get that but hurting yourself? You can’t do that!” Akira pressed both hands to Ren’s chest to push him back. “I--They’re right that I’m not worth it.” 

“Don’t.” Ren caught one of Akira’s hands to squeeze it tightly. It wasn’t in a painful way but it was tight enough to be a clear warning, “You’re worth it to me and that’s all that matters. Fuck them and this whole town. You’re all I want.” 

“Ren…” Akira met his brother’s gaze for a few seconds before looking away, “Thank you.” 

Ren’s grip relaxed after that as he drew Akira back in for a comforting embrace. “I’ll protect you so just leave everything to me, okay?” Ren ran a hand up and down Akira’s spine. 

“Okay… you should change clothes. You’re soaking wet.” Akira noted. 

“Hm, I could do that or just take them off.” Ren’s comforting hands moved lower to hold Akira’s hips and knead his skin softly. 

“Not today. I’m so tired.” Akira pressed his forehead into Ren’s wet chest. “I just want to be held for a while.”

“I can do that.” Ren agreed then led Akira back to his bed to lay him down before he removed his clothes. Instead of going to his own room to get his clothes he just changed into some of Akira’s. “I’ll give them back later.” Ren stated as he slipped into bed with his brother and pulled him close to tuck Akira’s head under his chin. “How’s that?” 

“It’s nice.” Akira answered tiredly. “Thanks for defending me Ren.” 

“Any time.” 

“Next time maybe don’t cut yourself?” Akira requested. 

“I’ll try.” Ren promised then moved a hand up to Akira’s hair to brush it back and comfort him. “I love you Aki. I’ll do anything to protect you.” 

“I know.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i changed his velvet room because i have the power and this is more funnnnn.
> 
> I'm rushing to get this done before I'm dragged out to do stupid things because my gran insists that it's safe to. uuuuugh, time to strap on that mask guys. thanks for reading!
> 
> preview:
> 
> _“Dude I have been looking everywhere for you!” The blond man said once he was close enough to the table. He spared Akira a quick look then turned his attention back to Akechi. “You ignoring me or something?”_
> 
> _“I’ve been in class all morning and as you can see I’m with someone.” Akechi motioned at Akira. “I have some manners not to check my phone while talking with someone.”_
> 
> _“You could have looked for like a second!” The man gave him an annoyed look._
> 
> _“Why are you here Ryuji? Don’t you have school? You know, in Kyoto?” Akechi looked like he was actually starting to age a little. Was Ryuji that draining on him?_


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Goro formally asks Akira to join the Phantom Thieves and he accepts on a tentative measure. He wants to see what they're all about. At the same time Ryuji arrives to request help with a palace he found in Kyoto.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> its a day

Akira woke to the feeling of something pating the side of his face over and over until he opened his eyes. Once he did the blurry outline of a cat flooded his vision as Morgana spoke to him excitedly, “You’re the Trickster!” 

“You’re a cat.” Akira rolled over as he pushed the cat off of him.

“I’m not-- whatever-- you’re the Trickster I was sent to look for!” Morgana sounded very excited about this, “Do you have any idea how many years I’ve looked for you?!” Morgana hopped over Akira to be on the side he was facing now.

Akira frowned at the cat then turned over again but this time got out of bed. “What is a ‘Trickster’ and why have you been looking for it?” Akira asked as he looked for his glasses. Once he had them on he started to get his clothes together so he could get dressed for the day.

“The Trickster is one who defies fate, or one has the power to change the world!” Morgana explained from his place sitting on the bed. Akira stopped midway through putting a shirt off before he ripped it off completely. 

“What?” Akira gripped the shirt tightly in his hands. 

“They have the power to wield multiple personas rather than just the one like the rest of us.” Morgana looked rather smug now that he had Akira’s full attention. “As I understand it they’re called Tricksters because you never know what they have up their sleeves. Oh man, this is so exciting. I gotta tell Goro. Get your phone out!” 

“I don’t have his number.” Akira frowned. 

“I have it! Just get your phone out!” Morgana demanded again. Did he really want to get Akechi’s number this way? No, but this cat wasn’t going to let him rest. 

“Fine. I’ll get the damn phone.” Akira put on a new shirt then turned to get his phone. He waited for Morgana to tell him the number but rather than use words Morgana sat up a little straighter and indicated his neck. “Oh.” Akira touched the collar to look at the number before dialing it in. 

Once the phone began to ring Akira lowered it from his ear to set it to speaker. After about four rings Akira was tempted to hang up but then Akechi answered. “Hello?” A tired voice came over the line. What time was it actually? Akira glanced up to note the very early 5AM on his phone.

“I’m so sorry I’m calling you so early. Morgana told me too--” Akira felt his face heating up as he realized he woke Akechi up. 

“Akira?” Akechi questioned with concern in voice. Akira felt a rush of blood to his face at Akechi using his first name in such a tone. He sounded like he was still half asleep but the worry was still evident in his voice. Why was it so cute? “What’s wrong?” 

“Morgana wanted to talk to you about--” Akira began to explain but Morgana cut in. 

“He’s the Trickster!” Morgana shouted. “He’s the one I was looking for!” Akechi made a sound of understanding followed by a half minute of silence. “Goro?” 

“I was waiting for you to tell me why it’s important.” Akechi said. 

“You-- It was important!” Morgana shouted, “Like, because something is gunna happen! Or… something.” 

“You have no idea why it’s important.” Goro sighed.

“I’m sorry for waking you up so early.” Akira played with his bangs trying to look apologetic even though Akechi couldn’t see him. 

“My alarm was going to go off soon.” Akechi spoke through a yawn. “Would you mind terribly if I came to Leblanc this morning for coffee then we headed to the campus together?” 

“Uh, sure? We can do that?” Akira answered almost not sure if he was saying the right thing. 

“Alright. I’ll be there in the next hour or so.” Akechi then hung up leaving Akira staring at his phone before looking slowly over at Morgana. 

“So… what now?” Akira asked. 

“Well, I’ll have to convince you to really join us!” Morgana jumped down from Akira’s bed to sit in the middle of the room. “We’ll show you how to be a Phantom Thief and what we do! We should show you Mementos, and we gotta figure out how you use multiple personas too. Oh this is gunna be good!” 

“I haven’t even said if I’m joining you or not.” Akira stood up from his bed to toss his phone aside. “I don’t know anything about any of you or this thing that you’re trying to do. You can’t just expect me to jump in with both feet.” 

“B-but…” Morgana cast his eyes as he tried to find the words to convince Akira to join them. There wasn’t a lot he would be able to really say. Akira wanted time to figure things out. As it was he was still having trouble adjusting to life in Tokyo. Throw in the fact that Ren’s scent was gone and Akira was still very unsure about what he wanted to even do. 

He didn’t want to kill himself anymore but he wasn’t sure he wanted to exist either. He wanted to vanish again so he could start over one more time. Yes meeting his childhood celebrity crush was awesome, and he was nice and had a scent similar to Ren’s, but everything after that was a fucking nightmare. Monsters, talking cat, weird worlds, the only nice thing Akira got out of all that was that Ren was there for him to look at for a little while.

Morgana was still trying to figure out what he should say when a knock on the door followed by Sojiro’s voice interrupted his thoughts, “If you’re awake I was going to put on some coffee. Do you want some?” 

“Sure?” Akira exchanged a look of confusion with Morgana. Sojiro said he’d have it ready in a few minutes so Akira could still take his time. “Listen, cat, Morgenna? Whatever, I don’t know if I want to have anything to do with any of this stuff. My life has been pretty questionable so far if you can tell. So… yeah.” 

“Well, I guess I’ll just have to see if Goro can talk you into it.” Morgana seemed to decide this was the best course of action. As long as he shut up then it was fine either way. 

Akira finished getting dressed before he headed downstairs to have coffee with Sojiro. Before he could close the door to his room Morgana rushed out to get downstairs shouting that Boss didn’t really hate him. Once Akira sat down Sojiro set a mug with coffee in front of him then spoke, “That cat giving you a hard time?” 

“Yes.” Akira answered honestly, “He’s very nosy.” 

“I hear that.” Sojiro laughed, “Tell me, what do you like to eat for breakfast normally?” 

“Uhm, pancakes?” Akira was not actually sure what he would eat so he went with the first thing that popped into his head. 

“I can do that.” Sojiro turned away and began to cook. 

“You don’t have to!” Akira said quickly. 

“It’s alright. I don’t mind it, and I think you’d like something not curry for breakfast right?” Sojiro shot Akira a quick smile before he set to work. A few minutes later Sojiro set a plate in front of Akira with probably far too many pancakes for him to finish. He was wondering how to best tell this to Sojiro when the bell chimed and Akechi came in. “Well look what the cat dragged in. Yours is there by the way.” Sojiro pointed at Morgana sitting in one of the booths. 

“I’ll take him home with me later. Right now it’s pouring outside.” Akechi brushed his hands against each of his shoulders before deciding to just remove his coat. “It came on after I left and I forgot my umbrella at home.” Akechi explained before he removed his gloves then brushed a hand through his hair to get his wet bangs out of his face. 

Akira could actually feel his face turn red as he watched the display. He only realized he was staring after Akechi met his gaze then smirked, “Find something interesting to watch Kurusu-kun?” 

“N-no!” Akira yelped then turned his eyes back toward the daunting pile of pancakes in front of him. Sojiro was already cleaning so he wouldn’t be making more. Maybe Akira could throw some at Akechi to get out of trying to force all of them down. “Are you hungry? I could share.” Akira wasn’t sure how to best explain what he wanted to say without making Sojiro offended.

“If you’re sure you want to share I’ll accept.” Akechi made his way over to Akira to set his coat on the back of the chair then sat down. Sojiro paused washing dishes to set a plate in front of Akechi so Akira could split off some of the stack to give to Akechi. “Thank you.” 

“What has you over here so early?” Sojiro asked as he set a cup in front of Akechi to pour him a drink. 

“I thought Kurusu-kun would like the company. Besides that, the cat is out of the bag.” Akechi explained as he picked up his cup to take a drink. “Do you like rain Kurusu-kun?” 

“Um, as long as there isn’t a lot of thunder with it.” Akira answered while cutting his leftover pancakes with his fork. 

“Scared of thunder?” Akechi set his coffee down to pick up his own fork. 

“A bit, it always shook the house back when I was a kid. I thought it was going to fall over.” Akira began to eat now while now listening carefully for any thunder sounds he might pick up on from in the cafe. 

“I’ve always found thunderstorms fascinating. I like to watch them at night when they light up the sky. I can see why you’d be scared of them though. People often have problems with them.” Akechi was good at starting idle conversation. Maybe it was from all the years of TV work, or maybe from his detective work. It made it easy to talk to him and just share little details about life and made him forget Sojiro was even there.

By the time Akira was full he’d actually cleared much more of his plate than he thought he would. Was it because he was actually hungry or because he was just kind of trying to keep himself busy between bites of pancake? Whatever the case by the time the two of them finished it was time to leave but the rain outside was falling harder than ever. Akira quickly returned to his room to get dressed for the weather before he returned to the cafe floor where he found Akechi looking out the window.

“Looks like a wet trip. Morgana, go back to his room.” Akechi looked at the cat sitting in one of the booths. “I’ll come back after to take you home.”

“I don’t want to go back! Listen he’s the Trickster and I should stay at his side!” Morgana argued. 

“I don’t care what you’re talking about. Go.” Akechi spoke sternly and pointed toward the stairs until Morgana let out a groan and did as he was told. “I’ll take him back with me today after classes.”

“Sure.” Akira was tempted to tell Akechi that he could leave Morgana with him but the problem with that was that Akira knew the cat was completely able to understand him and could talk to Akechi and the others. If Akira had any other thoughts about running away or nightmares then the cat was bound to tell on him. Akira wanted his privacy again. 

“I’ve only got one umbrella so you’re going to have to snuggle up under it or one of you can just get wet.” Sojiro passed a black umbrella over the counter to Akira. “Good luck.” 

“Thanks.” Akira accepted the umbrella then joined Akechi looking out the window. “U-um, do you want to share?” 

“I’d like to, yes. I would like to avoid getting wet where I can.” Akechi said and Akira tried to beat down the nervous feeling he got with the idea of being that close to Akechi. They were friends, or something of the sort. It was fine. Even if they were more than friends… Ren was gone. 

Akira made his way outside and stood under the awning with a solemn look on his face. Thinking about Ren made him doubt he should be entertaining the idea of getting so close to Akechi. It was probably stupid of him to even think that he and Akechi could end up as anything more than awkward friends. Akechi was a popular alpha who probably had no trouble finding willing partners who weren’t claimed by someone else.

“Kurusu-kun?” Akechi called to Akira, snapping Akira out of his daze. 

“Sorry!” Akira apologized without looking at him as he opened the umbrella up then stepped under it and into the rain. “Let’s go!” 

“If I make you too uncomfortable we can stop at a shop and I can get a new umbrella.” Akechi offered not yet getting under the umbrella. 

“You said you just forgot yours right? I’m fine. You don’t have to waste your money like that!” Akira kind of wanted to encourage Akechi to go through with his plan but he was also a coward and didn’t want to cause trouble.

“If you’re sure.” Akechi said before stepping under the umbrella as well. “Lead on.” Akechi flashed Akira a smile prompting Akira to start walking. It was stressful at first but by the time they got on the train Akira was starting to relax. Akechi’s scent was doing wonders to keep Akira from freaking out even as more and more people crowded them into a corner of the train again.

Once they got to school and in the building Akechi continued to walk with Akira. It was confusing at first but when they approached their class Akira suddenly remembered. Today was the philosophy class they shared. Was today just going to be a day Akira and Akechi spent together? It wasn’t so bad. It made Akira feel guilty as hell, but it was also comforting. Being with Akechi was nice. He just wished he didn’t feel like he was betraying Ren.

━━━━━━━♟️━━━━━━━

“You seemed distressed around the end of class. Is it about the writing assignment?” Akechi asked as he and Akira sat together for lunch after the philosophy class ended for the day. 

“How--?” Akira started to ask but reminded himself that Akechi had also picked up on his distress at Ren’s scent vanishing. “My kanji is not where it should be.” Akira reached up to play with his bangs. “It wasn’t my strongest suit in high school and I haven’t had to use a lot of it after graduation. I can do math easily, but words are a little harder these days.” Akira admitted feeling embarrassment settle in the put of his stomach. 

“I can help you if you like.” Akechi offered. 

“You’ve already done a lot for me, and you’re busy--” 

“GORO!” Someone shouted across the cafeteria. Akira turned to look at a blond boy waving wildly from the doors. He was soaking wet but didn’t seem to care as he made his way toward them.

“Oh for fucks sake what is he doing here?” Akechi held a hand over his face.

“Dude I have been looking _everywhere_ for you!” The blond man said once he was close enough to the table. He spared Akira a quick look then turned his attention back to Akechi. “You ignoring me or something?” 

“I’ve been in class all morning and as you can see I’m with someone.” Akechi motioned at Akira. “I have some manners not to check my phone while talking with someone.” 

“You could have looked for like a second!” The man gave him an annoyed look.

“Why are you here Ryuji? Don’t you have school? You know, in Kyoto?” Akechi looked like he was actually starting to age a little. Was Ryuji that draining on him?

“Yeah but I got a week of free time to help my ma with something and also because I need help.” Ryuji explained, clearing his throat. “Important _team_ stuff.” 

“He knows.” Akechi motioned at Akira. “He’s the Trickster Morgana has been looking for. Whatever it means.” 

“Oh no shit?” Ryuji turned to Akira to offer a hand. “Ryuji Sakamoto. I’m, uh, like a co-founder. You know?” 

“Sure?” Akira took Ryuji’s hand in a firm shake before the blond stole a nearby chair to sit. “Should I go?” 

“No, please don’t leave me alone with him.” Akechi requested and it glued Akira to his seat. What was it about Ryuji that made Akechi not want to be left alone? 

“Dick.” Ryuji said dryly, “Seriously I came to find you because I need some help. You’re like, leader and shit, you could care a little more.”

“I care enough, Ryuji. I care that you should just get whatever you’re helping your mom out with done and go back to Kyoto.” Akechi rubbed the side of his head. 

“I would love to but I’m kind of scared my roommate is going to off himself and I need help since his palace is stupid and I am stupider.” Ryuji pointed at himself. “Please, I like this guy. I don’t want him dying for no reason.” 

Akechi looked to the side away from Ryuji for a moment then back at him with a sigh, “What’s his name?” 

“Yusuke Kitagawa.” 

“Kitagawa? He was in the news recently right?” Akira asked, putting both sets of eyes on him. “U-um, I mean. It might have been someone else…”

“What do you know?” Akechi asked. 

“Uh, from the news I saw he was being accused of just copying the art style Madarame was using by the end of his life? That he was probably the one distributing fakes of Madarame’s most popular piece?”

“Sayuri,” Akechi supplied, “That was a pretty big topic for a while after Madareme died. They found out that hundreds of copies of Sayuri were made and sold for ludacris amounts of money. A theory that came out of it was that his pupil was the one who stole the original and was selling pieces under the table. You share a room with him, Ryuji?” Akechi turned his attention back to Ryuji. 

“Yeah, after the shitstorm with that fakeass report he got denied by any decent art school and ended up in my school because it was the only one that would accept him.” Ryuji nodded. “He’s super chill and no way he did what they said he did. I’ve seen him draw in real time and it’s all him and shit, and get this. I found in his palace a like, painting that was replaying a scene over and over where that Madarame fuck was asking to use his art because he had an art block or whatever. The title on the painting was ‘Greatest Lament’ or some shit. Like, he knows he fucked up letting Madarame use his art.” 

“So, Madarame was using his art to keep his own career going.” Akechi touched his chin. “It does sound like our kind of target, a little bigger than usual though…” 

“Please man. I came out here to get you guys. Ok, a fib because I needed to help my ma move, but also to beg for some help. I can’t solo this.” Ryuji clapped his hands together before bowing his head. 

“Have you talked to Ann and Futaba yet?” Akechi asked. 

“They’re on board if you are.” Ryuji nodded. 

Akechi hummed before turning his eyes from Ryuji to Akira. There was a long pause before Akechi turned his attention back to Ryuji, “I’ll message you later about the plan. I don’t want to force Kurusu-kun to know everything we’re up to. He hasn’t given a clear indication of if he wants anything to do with us or not.” 

“No prob.” Ryuji stood and put the seat back then shot Akira a smile. “If you decide to join us that’d be cool. Saving people really makes you feel something good about yourself, you know? I gotta go help my ma but I’ll text you later Goro. See ya!” With that Ryuji was off. 

“I’m sorry about him. He’s… high energy.” Akechi sighed. “It was worse in high school. He couldn’t go a week without screaming about being a Phantom Thief and how awesome it was. I nearly went gray.” 

“He seems fun.” Akira watched Ryuji until he left. “He’s got the same energy Ren did. He’d run into a room soaking wet to talk and then remember he was dripping all over the floor so he’d hug me to drag me into trouble too.” 

“Sounds like you and Ryuji might get along then.” Akechi raised an eyebrow. “He’s the type that would do that if someone put the idea in his head.” 

“I would never wish that on anyone.” Akira chuckled. “So… you’re going to go to Kyoto?” 

“Probably.” Akechi answered. “It’s rare we leave Tokyo with so many people being here. We normally manage to keep a full plate without taking on people outside of this city. Would you want to go with us?” 

“What?” 

“You haven’t fully decided have you? It might be a good chance for you to see what we actually do and decide if you’d like to support us after that. What happened in your palace is very unusual. I’d like to try and convince you to join us.” Akechi said, twisting a piece of straw paper between his fingers. “Morgana said you’re the Trickster he’s been looking for all this time. What I know about that role is that they can use multiple personas and are said to help in world changing situations. I don’t know if the world is in that kind of danger where your power is needed but if it is… I wouldn’t want to keep this up without your help.” 

“I’m…” Akira looked down at the table. He wanted to say yes and no at the same time. He was just an omega. He couldn’t really be that special could he? “I’m more of a liability than a help. I’m just an omega… I can’t fight.” 

“So?” Akechi questioned. “Gender norms are bullshit to start with, but even if they mattered it doesn't mean you have to let them define you. You’re an omega, fine. You only hold yourself back when you say something like that. With some training you’ll be able to fight.” 

“You really want me around?” Akira had to ask. No one had wanted him for so long Akira had forgotten what it was like.

“I do. I won’t put expectations on you, but I think you’re much more important than you give yourself credit for.” Akechi said before his phone beeped. “It’s time for my next class. I’ll meet you outside after it’s over okay? I promised to take Morgana home.” 

“Y-you don't have to.” Akira looked back down at the table with a flush creeping up his face. “I don’t mind him.” 

“If you’re sure… we still hold meetings at Leblanc. Boss knows about us.” Akechi stood up and gathered his things. “So we’ll all be there. You don’t have to give us a clear answer there but you can listen in. Okay?” 

“Yeah.” Akira agreed. “I’ll see you later, Akechi-san.” 

“You can just call me Goro. I imagine we’ll be spending a lot more time together going forward and I’d like you to be comfortable around me. Could I call you by your name?” Akechi asked, waiting for Akira to answer. 

“O-okay.” Akira nodded. 

“Great, I’ll see you later, Akira.” Goro said before he turned to walk away. 

Akira stayed seated for a few more minutes just staring at his half eaten lunch. Why had he agreed to that? Why was he so willing to try when he had been telling himself no since he woke up? Now Akira was sitting there thinking about what use he could be to the Phantom Thieves.

_** GORO AKECHI ** _

**__** **_{_ ** _1:09pm: **Goro** has started a new chat thread **}**_

**Goro** : By the way, there’s a group chat I’d like to invite you to with the others.  
**Goro** : Perhaps getting to know people will help you decide.  
**Goro** : If that’s something you wanted to do.  
**Akira** : Akechi-san?  
**Goro** : Goro.  
**Akira** : Sorry, Goro-san…?  
**Goro** : If you have to.  
**Akira** : How’d you get my number?  
**Goro** : You called me from it this morning. I just saved it. I meant to bring it up but Ryuji showed up.  
**Akira** : Oh.  
**Goro** : So can I?  
**Akira** : Can you?  
**Goro** : Add you to the group.  
**Akira** : Oh! Yes?  
**Goro** : If you don’t want to be added tell me.  
**Akira** : I’ll join!  
**Goro** : Okay.  


**Goro has invited Akira to a group chat.**

**Akira** : Okay. Here I go?  


_**{The chat thread has been closed.}** _

**_ Knot the Phantom Thieves OwO _ **

**__** **_{_ ** _1:14pm: **Akira Kurusu** has joined the group **}**_

**_{_ ** _1:14pm: **Akira Kurusu** has joined the thread **}**_

**thorny4her** : oh no.  
**I_SIMP_4_FeatherMan** : i’ve been waiting for this.  
**PrinceNotCharming** : … I wish I’d remembered the names in this chat first.  
**thorny4her** : YOU SHOULD HAVE WARNED US GORO.  
**I_SIMP_4_FeatherMan** : no this is better. hi.  
**Akira** : Hi… These are… interesting names?  
**PrinceNotCharming** : Futaba made all of them.  
**I_SIMP_4_FeatherMan** : damn right i did. no one else in this chat gives a damn.  
**Akira** : I see.  
**I_SIMP_4_FeatherMan** : just let me know more about u and i’ll name u too.  
**PrinceNotCharming** : I’m going to class. Good luck Akira.  
**I_SIMP_4_FeatherMan** : oh first name terms now huh?  
**I_SIMP_4_FeatherMan** : i know what to name u.  
**Akira** : Should I be worried?  
**thorny4her** : deeply.  


**I_SIMP_4_FeatherMan has changed Akira’s name to GoroAkechis#1Fan.**

**GoroAkechis#1Fan** : UM.  
**thorny4her** : futaba don’t bully him…  
**I_SIMP_4_FeatherMan** : it’s funny!  
**I_SIMP_4_FeatherMan** : and true!  
**thorny4her** : this is just mean.  


**thorny4her has changed Akira’s name to leblancs-cutest-barista.**

**I_SIMP_4_FeatherMan** : that’s too long!  
**leblancs-cutest-barista** : I’m still worried.  
**I_SIMP_4_FeatherMan** : yes.  


**I_SIMP_4_FeatherMan has changed Akira’s name to brotherfucker.**

**thorny4her** : FUTABA.  
**I_SIMP_4_FeatherMan** : IT’S TRUE.  
**brotherfucker** : …  


**PrinceNotCharming has changed Akira’s name to TrialMemberAkira.**

**PrinceNotCharming** : Enough.  
**thorny4her** : thank you.  
**I_SIMP_4_FeatherMan** : buzzkill.  
**TrialMemberAkira** : Thank you, Goro-san.  
**I_SIMP_4_FeatherMan** : are we meeting today?  
**thorny4her** : prolly.  
**PrinceNotCharming** : Yes. 6PM.  
**I_SIMP_4_FeatherMan** : there you have it.  
**I_SIMP_4_FeatherMan** : see ya later.  
**thorny4her** : let me know if you have any questions kurusu-kun!  
**TrialMemberAkira** : Okay.  


_**{The chat thread has been closed.}** _

After classes were over Akira returned to Leblanc. It was a little daunting to go alone but he managed to make it through the rush of people and to the little cafe without having a panic attack from the enclosed space. Once he was home he greeted Sojiro then went up to his room to check on Morgana and renew his scent blocker in peace.

He had just finished applying it when there was a knock at his door. Akira opened it to look out at Sojiro, “Hey if you don’t mind maybe you could help me out at the shop a little?” Sojiro asked.

“You… want me to help?” Akira asked slowly. 

“Yeah. It might be good for you to try it out. It’ll be easy work for you. Just washing some dishes. I can give you some money as payment and even teach you how to make a decent cup of joe if you like.” Sojiro offered, “You don’t have to. It’s not a requirement, but you look like the kind that wants to earn what he spends. Right?” 

“Well… you’re not wrong.” Akira played with his bangs nervously. “If you’re okay with me I’ll try it.” Akira agreed. 

“Great, just come down when you’re ready.” Sojiro turned to leave. Akira thought to close the door and just sit down for a while but instead he decided to just follow Sojiro out, with Morgana following behind him closely to hide in the kitchen while Akira put on an apron to wash some dishes and listen to Sojiro explain coffee things.

When it came time for the group to meet Akira watched as Futaba then Ann walked inside first. They sat at the table nearest the stairs and quietly talked between one another with Morgana until Ryuji and Goro showed up. Once they were all there Sojiro looked up at the clock. 

“Well, I guess it’s that time. Uh, I’m going to go buy some groceries. Akira, you can just head up to your room.” Sojiro explained, then put on his hat and took off. 

“We’ll explain later that you’re at least a confidant.” Goro said once Sojiro had closed the door and flipped the sign. “Would you like to sit?” 

“I’m okay standing.” Akira shook his head. He knew he’d be too uncomfortable sitting at the table with them all. They also looked so comfortable together Akira didn’t want to intrude. 

“Alright, let’s begin,” Goro looked to Ryuji, “Explain everything again now that we’re all here.” With Goro’s queue Ryuji began to explain everything about Yusuke again. Making sure to end with the same plea he had before. 

“So, if we do this we have to go to Kyoto right?” Ann questioned. 

“That’s so faaaaaaaaaaar.” Futaba groaned, laying her top half on the table. 

“I know it is but I really need the help.” Ryuji clapped his hands together then bowed his head. “Please?” 

“I didn’t say no. I just complained it’s far. Sojiro will have to say ok but since it’ll be Goro asking he’ll fold.” Futaba sat back up. “The question becomes… will the trial member come too?” 

“M-me?” Akira pointed at himself. 

“Yes you. You’re the trial member.” Futaba motioned at him. 

“Well… I did agree to try.” Akira answered, playing with hit bangs. 

“If we’re in agreement with this palace we’ll make plans to leave for Kyoto the day after tomorrow.” Goro took out his phone. “Arrange things with the needed individuals, Akira do you want my help talking to Sojiro and Maruki?” 

“Uh… I have no idea what to say to them.” Akira bowed his head shamefully. “Please help me.” 

“Okay.” Goro nodded. “Ryuji are you heading back tomorrow or the next day?” 

“I’ll be heading back tomorrow. I’ll make sure he’s still there when you get there.” Ryuji banged his fist to his chest. “I’m kind of excited. It’s been a few years since I really did a palace. I hope I can match pace with the newbie.” Ryuji leaned around to look at Akira. 

“I doubt that.” Goro laughed. “Morgana would you like to explain why you woke me up before my alarm this morning?” 

“You could word that nicer!” Morgana snapped as he jumped on the table. “Anyway, Akira is the Trickster.” 

“Uhhh, why is that familiar?” Futaba asked. 

“He’s the one I’ve been looking for. The reason I was made!” Morgana turned around to look at her a little upset at her words. “The Trickster is the one designated by fate to save the world! He has the power to wield multiple personas!” 

“Designated by fate… to save… the world…?” Ryuji repeated slowly. “Not for nothin’ but ain’t that a bit much to shove on someone?” 

“I’m going to take that worth a grain of salt. Whatever this ‘fate’ shit is it doesn’t mean that he has to be part of the Phantom Thieves or us unless he chooses to.” Goro said looking at his phone. 

“You guys aren’t helping! This was my assignment from Master Igor! He has to join us!” Morgana shouted. 

“Goro’s right, we can’t make him.” Ann said before she reached out to pet Morgana. “Don’t stress out, your fur is going to fall out.” 

“Ann please!” Morgana turned his eyes to her. 

“The team has spoken. It’s up to him if he wants to join for sure, but we will go to Kyoto together.” Goro looked up from his phone. “That’s the last of this discussion. Akira,” Goro called to him, making him look, “I’ll take Morgana with me tonight so he can’t goad you. There’s no pressure on you here. Ignore the cat.” 

“I am not a cat!” Morgana shouted. “I should stay with him!” 

“No.” Goro moved to stand up and asked, “Could you bring his carrier down?”

“Sure.” Akira turned away from the party to go upstairs and get Morgana’s carrier. He came back down to find that only Morgana and Goro were left. “They went home?” 

“Ryuji has to get ready to leave tomorrow. Ann has to short out things with her agent, Futaba said she had a raid… or something.” Goro explained before he took the carrier. “Thank you for watching him and I’m sorry I just used him to spy on you.” 

“It’s okay.” Akira rubbed the side of his arm. “You guys were right about me being your kind of target. I was just a little too willing to talk to a cat I guess.” Akira chuckled nervously watching as Goro forced Morgana into the carrier. “Um… Do you… really want me in your team? Wouldn’t someone else be better?” 

“There aren’t really that many people who awaken to personas. The fact that you awakened at all is proof enough that you’re stronger than you think.” Goro closed the carrier door then looked to Akira, “And if Morgana is right and you really can wield multiple personas you’re stronger than literally any of us. I’d like to see that skill of yours. I’m not impressed by much anymore but if it’s true… well, you’ll be rather interesting after all.” 

“Interesting.” Akira repeated looking at him before squaring his shoulders. “Okay. I’ll go with you guys. I want to see if you’re right. If it’s true then maybe I’m not useless…” 

“Even without this power you’re not useless.” Goro sighed then looked back at the door. “Looks like the rain has completely stopped.” He looked thoughtful before he took off the scarf he was wearing to hoop it around Akira’s neck. “I’ll take that back with the handkerchief later. Good night Akira.” 

Akira opened his mouth to object but Goro’s scent wrapped around him like this was so comforting and the scarf was so warm. He could almost just curl up on the floor there and sleep. He was drawn out of his slight stupor by the sound of the cafe bell announcing the door was opening, “Oh! Goodnight, Goro-san!” Akira waved, earning a wave back before Goro finally left with Morgana. “Yeah… Ren would be laughing his ass off at me.” Akira pressed a hand to his face before picking up an end of the scarf to hold it to his nose. “Smells nice.”

━━━━━━━💎━━━━━━━

After Ren’s rather explosive fight with their parents, summer finally came and with it more free time. Akira wasn’t sure what to do with his free time. There wasn’t anywhere to go, they didn’t have the money to just jump on a train and vacation someplace so all they could do was sit around at home watching TV or playing games. 

One night Ren suggested they go out at night to stargaze by the river. All he told Akira was to show up and he’d ‘take care of the rest’ whatever that meant. When Akira finally managed to make his way to the spot he and Ren often spent their time around he found Ren already there with a blanket laid out on the grass and a basket with a picnic inside. “Ren?” Akira questioned gaining his brother’s attention. “What is this?” 

“What, did you expect us to lay on the grass?” Ren turned to face him with a grin. “I saw this in one of mom’s magazines and thought it might be nice. Just us and stars, and some snacks.” Ren said before a firefly drifted past his face. “Oh and I guess some fireflies.” 

“Wow, you took a date idea out of a magazine.” Akira tried not to laugh. It was sweet but it was also cliche. 

“Hey I worked hard at this!” Ren frowned. “Give me a little credit.” 

“Okay, okay.” Akira approached his twin to sit down. “What made you want to do this?” 

“I dunno, I mean… we’ve just been spending the summer hanging out and… screwing around…” Ren teased making Akira blush. 

“Shut up.” Akira shoved him a little. “So what store bought bentos did you bring?” 

Ren’s expression went from playful smirk to deadpan when Akira brought up the meal Ren had brought. His brother couldn’t cook to save his life, and sandwiches weren’t his favorite thing so it could only be some kind of bento. “Shut up.” Ren turned away with a pout.

“Aww, I got it in one?” Akira laughed then let himself fall back to watch the stars. “I guess this is a different summer huh?” 

“What do you mean?” Ren looked over at Akira.

“Last year I couldn’t get you to leave the house, now we’re like this and you’re toeing the line at what kind of ‘dates’ you can get away with while we’re stuck here.” Akira motioned vaguely toward the town. “I like this though. I like stars. It reminds me that there’s something else out there even if we never meet it. It’d be cool to meet something different though. Not human. You know?” 

“Maybe…? I’m happy just as we are.” Ren shrugged then laid back as well. “I mean, I’ll do what you want but I don’t need any weird alien stuff or magical junk.” 

“Scared of a little adventure?” Akira twisted around to face Ren and prop his head up with his elbow against the grass and fist against the side of his head. “We used to talk about it when we were younger.”

“Yeah, well, that was being childish.” Ren shrugged. 

“Oh so you’re done being childish now?” Akira looked unconvinced as he turned to stand up. “Okay then.” 

“W-wait, where are you going?” Ren sat up now.

“I’m going to have some fun.” Akira began to slowly approach a firefly. He carefully brought his hands to close around the firefly to catch it in his hands. He could feel the bug bounce around in his hands as he turned back toward Ren to carefully open space between his fingers to be just enough to show the light without giving the fly space to escape. 

“What are you doing?” Ren laughed a little. 

“You’re the one who came unprepared for firefly catching. Unless you have a jar.” 

“I… might?” Ren turned to the basket before he managed to find a small jar in the bottom. “I didn’t clean it all out from last time.” Ren explained before he joined Akira to hold the jar out for his twin to put the bug inside. 

“Let’s catch a few more!” Akira turned away once the firefly was caught properly. After Akira caught a few Ren couldn’t help but catch a few himself. After a dozen more were put in the jar it gave off a nice low glow. “Look at that. Wasn’t that fun?” The two of them were sitting again, Akira leaning against Ren with a smile. 

“Yeah,” Ren chuckled. “You know, after that fight with mom and dad I was worried I needed to be grown up already. Like, no more kid stuff ever but you made a point tonight that we can have both.” 

“We can. Who said games and firefly catching is just kid stuff anyway? Whoever set the rules was stupid.” Akira reached down to the firefly jar to look at the bugs inside before letting them all go by unscrewing the lid. “That’s us one day,” Akira explained watching as the last of the fireflies flew back into the night, “we’ll leave this place and fly out into space.” 

“I’d like that.” Ren sighed and wrapped an arm around Akira. “I guess I’ll go on your weird space adventure after all.” Ren turned toward Akira before moving a hand to cup Akira’s cheek and turn his face toward his to kiss him.

After a few seconds they separated and Akira just leaned against Ren with a smile, “I love you.” Akira nuzzled against Ren’s shoulder.

“I love you too, Akira.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! I know it’s been a few weeks. i’ve been struggling to write but also just in general. i have this chapter and two others written so i’m trying to pace them out so i have stuff for you guys but it’s been a while and i feel bad about not updating when i still have some padding so here’s this chapter. thank you for continuing to read.
> 
> I normally reply to comments but I’ve been struggling the last few weeks to find the motivation for much. I’ve been playing Genshin Impact alongside friends because it’s pretty and it’s free. I’ve just been really bleh brain. It’s to a point I don’t even have a wide number of chapters between posted and not posted right now. i’m posting 8 and I only have up to 10 written, currently trying to get 11 done. @.@
> 
> That said I’m sorry for not replying to comments but I appreciate all of them! I just need to hit my motivational stride again. >.< Thank you for reading and I hope you guys continue to enjoy!
> 
> preview:   
>  _“Oooooh damn that yellow!” Futaba cursed from behind them, making Akira turn around to look at her. “Ann, avenge meeeee!” Futaba leaned her head over onto Ann’s shoulder._
> 
> _“I can’t do that Futaba. I’m the other imposter.” Ann said dramatically._
> 
> _“Nooooo, not you!” Futaba cried._


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Upon request by Ryuji, the Phantom Thieves head to Kyoto to help him with a change of heart. Yusuke Kitagawa's palace is different though. Akira ends up in a fight with only Morgana to back him and up and it encourages him to call on a power he didn't know he had.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> merry crisis!

Despite being almost twenty years old, Akira had never left his home town until this month. His parents had sent him away from his home. He had moved to Tokyo to live in the attic of a cafe and now had the largest room he’d ever had in his life. He got to enjoy good coffee and curry, even if he didn’t eat much, and no spiteful stares. Now he was going to visit Kyoto on some kind of mission with a group known as the Phantom Thieves. It was surreal to think about but Akira had to admit it was exciting. A small part of him started to think this was all a dream and he was going to wake up in his cramped living space back in Shimogo. 

For now Akira was going to enjoy this dream. He got to go to neat places, go to school, speak with his celebrity crush, and feel better about himself. Sure there was a lingering guilt in the back of his mind but it wasn’t as loud as it used to be. Akira used to think it was Ren telling him he shouldn’t be living so happily without him. Now that Akira didn’t feel guilty for just waking up in the morning he realized that the voice in the back of his mind was actually his the whole time.

Ren’s voice was the one encouraging him to live and be happy. So maybe he could do that. Going to Kyoto and joining the Phantom Thieves could be the first step in Akira’s will to live on his own two feet finally.

Akira wasn’t sure he was technically allowed to leave Tokyo. It wasn’t that he was a prisoner of PILLOW, but when he reached out to them, the program assumed responsibility for him, which basically made Sojiro his legal dad until he was of majority age for omegas. However, even with Sojiro’s consent Maruki would need to write it off as well being that he was Akira’s case handler and Akira was still new to the program. Goro seemed pretty sure Maruki wouldn’t grant him permission to leave Tokyo so soon after arriving in the city, so they asked Sojiro to cover for him. 

Sojiro was an accomplice and general alibi for the Phantom Thieves as a whole. When Goro talked to him about needing an excuse for Akira he promised he would cook something up if Maruki came sniffing around. Goro suggested a fake heat and if Maruki didn’t buy it then it would already be too late to stop them. They put in a note at the school that Akira was in heat, then bought train tickets to head to Kyoto. 

On the train, Akira and Goro sat next to one another, Goro taking the aisle seat and giving Akira the buffer he needed from other people but also giving him access to the window. He watched as the scenery passed by quickly, all melding into one color as the city faded and fields took their place between towns. 

“You took a train from Shigomo, right?” Goro asked after some time passed.

“Kind of, It was from Shirakawa. I had to drive there first then I got on the train. It was different from this one though. The last bullet I was on was a private compartment.” Akira explained turning his attention to the alpha. “I thought all bullet trains were built like that but this one isn’t.”

“Kodama is a cheaper line. It takes a bit longer to get to Kyoto, but it also doesn’t cost a month’s salary for all the tickets. I may make decent money with my TV work, but it doesn’t mean I want to spend it all on private compartments and a time save of about an hour and forty minutes.” 

“That makes sense.” Akira agreed, “You know… I can give you some money--” 

“Don’t worry about it.” Goro rejected the idea before Akira could finish. “You’ve just gotten to Tokyo and things have been hectic for you so far.”

“I can pay you back later still.” Akira chewed his bottom lip as he thought about what kind of work he could do to even earn back however much the ticket must have cost. 

“You really don’t have to. I take care of finances for us in general as a team. We have a fund for things like keeping our equipment in good shape and travel expenses. Though this is the first time we’ve traveled out of Tokyo.” Goro explained looking up from his book. “Please just accept this as a team expense and don’t worry about paying it back. You’re going with us to Kyoto to try this palace and figure out if this is something you want to get involved in. That’s payment enough.” 

“Okay.” Akira shut up after that. He wouldn’t be able to win this argument. 

“Oooooh damn that yellow!” Futaba cursed from behind them, making Akira turn around to look at her. “Ann, avenge meeeee!” Futaba leaned her head over onto Ann’s shoulder. 

“I can’t do that Futaba. I’m the other imposter.” Ann said dramatically. 

“Nooooo, not you!” Futaba cried.

“Are you two still obsessed with that Among Them game?” Goro turned around as well to look back, putting him in Akira’s bubble. Even with a blocker on, Akira could make out Goro’s scent. It was comforting and did wonders for keeping Akira from freaking out on the train any time someone without a blocker walked by to use the bathroom. Akira was brought back to the topic on hand when Goro continued to speak, “I thought you said you weren’t going to play after I thoroughly destroyed you last time.” 

“No, I said I wasn’t going to play with _you_!” Futaba pointed at him dramatically. “You’re a freak in this game. You always know who the imposter is and then you’re so fucking good at lying about murdering people I just… Uuuuugh. I hate playing with you!” 

“Among Them?” Akira questioned.

“It’s a mobile game they like to play.” Ann turned her phone toward Akira to show him. “It’s pretty fun! If you want to try we can give it a go!”

“Uh, maybe another time.” Akira turned back away from her to sit forward facing again. He still felt uncomfortable talking with Ann. She seemed nice but there was just something that made Akira nervous. It could have been that she was an alpha, but then Goro was an alpha too. Maybe the difference was that Goro’s scent was familiar? There weren’t many alphas back in Shimogo so Akira hadn’t really worried about them. Now there were so many he was kind of stressed out about their presence. 

“Did you bring anything to entertain you?” Goro asked turning back from the girls as well. 

“Uh, entertain is a strong word, but I brought some homework.” Akira said, pulling his bag close to take a book and a notebook. 

“If you need any help just ask.” Goro said before looking back to his book to read. This left Akira time to read his course book. He was maybe an hour in when he started to feel drowsy. He kept trying to keep his head up but the words on the page weren’t making sense to him and he was just so tired. The last thing he remembered was leaning his head over to his left to hit something soft and comforting.

━━━━━━━♟️━━━━━━━

“-kira. Akira, wake up.” Someone called to Akira to draw him out of his sleep. The omega blinked a few times as he tried to make sense of where he was when he realized Goro was trying to wake him up because the train had stopped. “We’re here. Come on.” Goro gave his shoulder a squeeze then stood upright to reach over his head to get at the compartment there and bring their bags down. “Sleep well?” 

“Uhh, I’m going to say yes.” Akira’s face dusted red. He hadn’t meant to sleep but he did. Damn.

“Let’s head out, we’re heading to the hotel first then meeting with Ryuji for a look at the palace and dinner.” Goro explained as he waited for Akira to put his school work back into his bag then get up. 

“Oh man, I have the BEST picture of you sleeping.” Futaba teased Akira as she wiggled past. “I'll send it to you later!” 

“I tried to make her delete it but she’d probably uploaded it to six different cloud folders at this point. All we can do at this point is accept it.” Goro slipped out first then waited for Akira to step out in front of him to follow the omega out. 

“Should I…” Akira trailed off, “nevermind. So far the times I’ve asked if I should be worried I’ve found that the answer is yes.” 

“You pick up quickly.” Goro said in such a way that sounded like he was agreeing with Akira. “Futaba thrives on causing problems on purpose. Don’t ever believe her if she plays innocent.” 

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Akira laughed before he and Goro finally exited the train. “I won’t lie, this looks a lot like Tokyo from here…” 

“Kyoto doesn’t have as many tall buildings.” Goro led the way over to where Ann and Futaba met with Ryuji. “I thought we were meeting you at the hotel?” 

“I got done with practice early so I thought I’d come pick ya up!” Ryuji shoved his hands in his pockets. 

“Oh so you have a car?” Ann asked. 

“W-well no.” Ryuji stuttered. 

“You’re not really picking us up then.” Futaba teased. “Anyway, I got us the last two rooms in the city for the next week.” Futaba took her phone out. “We have to head over toward Kyoto University Hospital which iiiiis, north from here? Ryuji do you know where a hotel called “The Home” is at?” 

“Yeah actually! I live near the hospital since I got my knee fixed there.” Ryuji did a few squats as if trying to show off that he could do them. “We can hop on the train and head over.” 

“We need to get Mona first.” Goro motioned over toward the end of the train where people were gathering larger bags. Akira waited with the others as he watched Goro step away to get the cat carrier. 

“That was horrible!” Morgana complained once they were close enough. “There has to be a better way to travel with me!” 

“There’s not. If you were sent here to look for Akira then _Igor_ should have made you look human.” Goro explained. 

“It wasn’t like he MEANT to make me look like this! My being a cat is part to do with human cognition, part to do with Akira!” Morgana said loudly. 

“Can you stop shouting before I just throw you into traffic?” Goro growled glaring down at the cage.

“I’ll carry him.” Akira offered. He didn’t think Goro really would throw Morgana into a street but he felt like Goro was probably ready to shake the cage to get Morgana to stop talking right now. Sure he was speaking in plain Japanese for them, but there was that vague sound of meowing under his words so Akira was sure it sounded like one very noisy cat.

Goro didn’t argue with Akira about passing Morgana over leaving Akira with both his bag on his shoulder and a carrier in his hands. “Thank you. I’ve been living with him for years and there’s only so much I can take.”

“Alright we got the cat. Let’s roll out.” Ryuji motioned for everyone to follow him. The trains weren’t as packed as the ones back in Tokyo but it was still pretty full. Akira just kept close to Goro trying to avoid getting too close to strangers. The only problem Akira was having was Ryuji’s scent was all over the place. How’d he know it was Ryuji’s? 

“Ryuji could you have like, bathed before you came? You reek!” Ann complained once the train doors shut. “You are _torturing_ some poor omega, **and** me.” 

“Ah, yeah I shoulda put blockers on. Sorry.” Ryuji sniffed himself. Akira was one of the omegas currently having to deal with Ryuji’s overwhelming scent. It was a sweet kind of scent that made Akira feel queasy. It was like someone stuck a funnel in his mouth and made him swallow a bag of sugar. It was a very strong scent of honey and brown sugar and as nice as it would be in small doses it was far too much in such a closed place.

Without saying a word Goro shifted closer to Akira making himself close enough to Akira that his scent at least cut some of Ryuji’s. Akira mumbled an unconscious thanks while watching Ann as she set her bag in Ryuji’s arms so she could pull out a large bottle of blocker lotion. “You’re putting this on now before I punch you.” 

“Okay, okay!” Ryuji let Ann take her bag back before accepting the bottle to get some of the lotion out and rub it around his neck then into his hands to try and dry the lotion as fast as he could. “Happy?” 

“Yes.” Akira sighed as the scent dissipated and he was able to relax. “I mean, I’m sorry!” Akira stiffened to look at Ryuji with an apologetic expression. 

“Nah it’s cool bro. I should have thought more about showing up after practice like that. Sorry.” Ryuji scratched the back of his head. “I gotta get used to the fact it ain’t just Ann and Goro that’ll be smellin’ me now.”

“Ryuji even _I_ could smell you!” Futaba spoke up, earning a chuckle from Ann and Ryuji before the group began to talk about where they could have dinner. 

━━━━━━━♟️━━━━━━━

After arriving at the hotel the check in the group separated. Ann and Futaba’s room was on a separate floor so they got off on the second floor with Ryuji. They also decided to take Morgana with them for the night so Goro wouldn’t throw him out a window. The room Goro and Akira would be sleeping in for their stay was on the top floor. “I’m sorry you have to room with me.” Goro said once the elevator doors shut and before Akira could get the words out of his mouth first. 

“It’s okay.” Akira shook his head. “I should be the one apologizing.”

“Why?” Goro asked, throwing Akira off. 

“Uh. W-well, who would want to room with someone like me?” Akira guessed but Goro didn’t look convinced so he tried again. “Because… I’m a bonded omega…?” 

“We need to work on your sense of self worth.” Goro led them out of the elevator and toward the end of the hall to take out his keycard to swipe them into the room. Goro’s words left Akira feeling a bit slapped across the face but he was right. Akira had no sense of personal worth not with Ren gone. “I know you grew up in a town with ancient ideologies. I’m not trying to make you feel bad. Okay? I want to help you at least feel like you matter beyond your dynamic gender.”

“Why?” Akira followed Goro into the room and stood at the door watching the alpha set his bag down on the table. “Why go out of your way for me?” 

“I told you about my mother. Do you remember?” Goro met Akira’s gaze. “She was an omega and because of the man who claimed her she was never able to believe she was worth more than what happened to her. I couldn’t help her. I was too young to understand. I can help you though.” Goro said and Akira would sense the warmth behind his words. 

“So, I’m just someone you’re using to redeem yourself?” Akira questioned. It was harsh wording but he had to say it. 

“If that’s what you want to think. My motives are my own.” Goro turned away again leaving Akira to think on what Goro was doing and why he had to be the one he wanted to save or whatever. “Oh for fucks sake.” Goro hissed loudly making Akira come around him to look at what was upsetting him. “There’s only one bed…” 

“Oh.” Akira stared at the single queen bed in the room. “Uh, I can sleep on--”

“No.” Goro ran a gloved hand through his hair. “You’re not sleeping on the floor. I’ll check at the front desk if they have an extra futon we can use before we head out. For now let’s head back down stairs.” 

“Oh, right. We’re going to the palace.” Akira reminded himself.

“We’ll debate eating or not first downstairs. Just put your bag down for now and we’ll head down.” Goro waited by the door for him. They made their way down to the lobby where everyone was already waiting for them. “Futaba, you’re the one who got the rooms, did you get only one bed in ours on purpose?” 

“Huh? No?” Futaba frowned. “I got two of them. Two, two beds. Is there only one bed?” Goro stared at her for a good minute before he turned toward the concierge to speak with them about a cot or futon instead. “Is there really only one bed?” Futaba asked Akira. 

“Yeah. I told him I would sleep on the floor but he cut me off.” Akira explained. “You really meant to get two beds?” 

“Yeah, I don’t know what happened.” Futaba shrugged, “That’s weird.” Futaba looked troubled when Goro returned to them. “They got anything you can use?” 

“They can give me extra blankets and pillows but they’re out of cots and futons. When I brought up that there should have been two beds, I was informed that they’ve been told they have a site glitch that currently sets all their rooms as two beds.” Goro explained his eyes on Futaba to stare her down as if suggesting it was her fault somehow.

“I had nothing to do with it!” Futaba defended herself. “If they’re out of cots then they’ve been having this problem since before the conference and _**I**_ wouldn’t have known we were coming to Kyoto!” Futaba pointed up at Goro before he finally just let out an annoyed sigh and let it drop. 

“Do we want to eat first or just jump into the palace?” Goro questioned. 

“We should just look at the palace. I got a place I got stuck at and looked at it yesterday. Everything is still open and ready to explore.” Ryuji explained.

“Let’s do that then.” Goro looked to the others before earning nodes from the rest of the party. “Lead the way, Ryuji.” Goro motioned for Ryuji to head out of the hotel first and the rest followed. After a short bus trip to the college the group made their way onto the campus to walk toward the track field. 

“So where is his palace?” Ann asked after they passed the field and kept walking. 

“Almost there.” Ryuji promised as he took his phone out. “We should probably head in from here. There’s going to be a lot of people around who’re comin’ outta class for the day. So the keywords are, Yusuke Kitagawa, Kyoto University Art Department, maze.” Ryuji said before the world began to distort around them. The wobble of the world made it hard to focus so Akira had to close his eyes a moment and when he opened them next it looked as though the party had been transported into a black and white TV show.

“Wow, I always hoped I’d get to know what it was like to be in a fifties TV show.” Ann said looking at her hands then twisting to look at the rest of her body. She was in gray tones and when Akira looked at himself so was he. Sure most of his outfit had been black and gray anyway but his gloves had been bright red. At least he thought they were. They were gray now. 

“Well, I think we know who among us is a friend of Kitagawa’s.” Goro spoke before Akira looked up from his hands to him. His mask was gray as was his cape so it was certainly part of a gimmick of this world. Akira’s eyes followed Goro’s gazes before falling on Ryuji who was still colorful though the colors were somewhat muted.

“Whoa, I thought my eyes were playin’ tricks on me but lookin’ at you guys I can see that I wasn’t crazy.” Ryuji looked at each party member before looking at Akira. “Hey, nice outfit.” Ryuji shot him a thumbs up.

“Uh, thanks?” Akira wondered if it was something he could have chosen himself.

“Alright Skull, where are we going?” Morgana asked before Futaba gasped. “What?” 

“We gotta name the newbie!” Futaba pointed at Akira. 

“Name?” Akira asked, tilting his head to one side. 

“Oh, yeah you’re right!” Ann snapped her fingers. “We all have code names. Can’t run around as Phantom Thieves using our own names. For example, I’m Panther, Ryuji is Skull, Goro’s is Crow, Morgana is Mona, and Futaba is Oracle.” Ann pointed to each party member as she spoke then let out a chuckle. “I guess a lot of the names are just what we look like.” 

“His won’t be easy.” Futaba moved to circle around Akira. “Tailcoat?” 

“Let’s worry about it later.” Goro shook his head. “We’re going to look into this palace right? We’ll have time to discuss codenames after. Let’s go.” 

“I guess we just call him Trial for now then, or Newbie? Newbie!” Futaba decided then turned around to follow as Ryuji led the group around the building. Once they cleared the building they had been hiding behind the party was met with a large wall of thick thorns. Just from looking at them Akira could tell they were dead. Now and again there were blank picture frames hanging on the thones with points poking through the center. This guy was an artist right? The decoration made sense but why was everything blank and colorless?

“Whoa, this maze is huge.” Futaba said as she touched the sides of her goggles. “I can’t see the path, something is fogging it up, but I can see the end. There’s a building back there, not big.”

“Can’t scale the walls. It’s not just the thorns or anything but like, when you get near the top they just get taller.” Ryuji explained. “The entrance is over here.” Ryuji motioned to be followed to guide the party to an intricate gateway with move thorns wrapped around an iron fence decorated with fox masks in varying shapes and sizes. 

“You said you got stuck in here, is that because it’s a maze or…?” Goro asked, looking at Ryuji.

“Nah. I can do mazes. It's something else. I’ll show ya.” Ryuji started into the maze now. One by one each of the party went inside with Akira bringing up the end. He paused at the entry to look up at the gate wondering if this was right. This Yusuke might have been suicidal but what right did they have to change his heart for forcefully? Would it not be better to try talking to Yusuke first? 

Maybe Akira was uncomfortable with this because he had gone through this himself. The worst parts of himself ended up on display for a group of strangers. They knew things about him that he never wanted anyone to know.

“Newbie, come on!” Futaba shouted after Akira waited for too long. Akira quickly followed after the party as they twisted their way through the thorns without any trouble. It was when they came to where Ryuji had gotten stuck that they stopped. 

“So here’s my problem,” Ryuji motioned around a large clearing where the only thing other than thorny walls was a large painting of a shabby looking building on the corner of a nice looking neighborhood. “I have no idea where to go. The walls are all around, nothing fake, and just this painting.” 

“I’ve seen this building before…” Ann said approaching it. “This the place Kitagawa-kun lived before.” Ann folded her arms under her chest. “I looked up some stuff after you said we needed to help him and this was Madarame’s ‘humble’ home.” 

Akira moved closer to the painting to look at it. The detail was fantastic. It wasn’t a photo, Akira could see the texture of the paint brush, but why was it here? Akira walked along the large frame while Goro talked with Ryuji about what would be the best way to get past this point. Ann suggested trying to burn through the wall but Futaba insisted that the vines were immune to fire and magic in general.

Akira’s eyes eventually stopped wondering to focus on a spot on the painting where the door to the building had opened. Was it open before? Akira leaned closer to it to try and make out what he could see there. It looked like there was someone watching him from the other side of the door. Curiosity got the better of Akira as he reached a hand forward to touch his finger to the painting. Where his finger should have connected with solid canvas actually slipped through causing Akira to let out a distressed sound. Something was pulling on him to go into the painting. “Help!” Akira tried to pull himself back as he shouted but he didn’t have enough strength to stop himself from getting pulled inside.

The last thing Akira heard was his name being called by Goro before he was fully pulled into the painting. He squeezed his eyes shut as he felt pressure from all around him until his feet hit the ground again. When he opened them he realized he was now inside the painting. There was a texture of brush strokes over his hands as if he too was a painting. It was when he was looking at his hands he realized that Morgana was still with him, had the cat grabbed hold of his leg when he was pulled in?

“This is weird.” Morgana said looking at his paws. “Well, I can’t see a way back out so I think all we can do is go forward?” He pointed at the shabby building in front of them as a point of their next goal.

“I thought we were just supposed to look?” Akira sighed, not feeling comfortable going forward. “Shouldn’t we see if the others can make it in?” 

“If they could they’d already be in here.” Morgana stated. “We’ll just have to see what we can do to maybe get out.” Morgana then began to walk to the shack and Akira had no other choice but to follow. 

The door was wide open now and before them was a dark hall. It was far too intimidating but worst of all it reminded Akira of the empty halls of his childhood home after Ren had vanished. He didn’t want to go inside. He was about to voice this when a small child stepped out of the shadows in a black fox mask with closed eyes, and a nearly pristine white yukata. The edges of the yukata were stained black as if the child had been splashed with ink. Akira’s eyes traveled down to the child’s hands where he could see them dripping with ink, or was it blood? Each drop on the floor made the blackness behind them grow.

“Why are you in here?” The child asked. “You shouldn’t be in my palace.” 

“You’re Kitagawa-kun?” Akira was confused. He thought Yusuke was supposed to be college aged?

“Why are you in here?” Yusuke repeated. 

“That’s his shadow, Newbie.” Morgana explained standing defensive. “The real Yusuke is an adult.”

“I thought so but… why is he a child?” Akira questioned looking back at Yusuke.

“It’s his cognition. Whatever Yusuke is going through he still sees himself as a child for some reason.” Morgana was guessing. Great, he didn’t know any better than Akira did.

“Why are you in here?” Yusuke repeated once more. 

“We’re trying to help you.” Akira decided to answer. “Why are you in here?” Akira turned the question around. Maybe he could make this shadow, cognition, whatever, question itself into fixing himself somehow.

“My master won’t let me leave.” Yusuke answered. “Why are you helping me?” 

“Your master?” Akira asked. “You mean Madarame? He’s dead though.” 

“He’s still here.” Yusuke explained, “He won’t let me leave. Why are you helping me?” 

“Ryuji wanted to save you.” Akira answered again and that seemed to get Yusuke’s attention. He slowly moved his hand up to his face to tilt his mask up to look at Akira with big yellow eyes. 

“Ryuji is nice to me.” Yusuke said with a smile. “If you’re a friend of Ryuji maybe you can stop my master.” Yusuke left his mask on top of his head before lowering his hands to ball his fingers into fists and stop the ink from dripping. “You want to go forward right? I can show you how but it’s dangerous.” 

“Show us please.” Morgana pleaded. Yusuke said nothing but gave a nod then began to turn around and lead them into the building. As Yusuke walked the shadows of the hall began to clear up, the black of the painting absorbing through his feet to soak into his yutaka, dying it black. “Let’s go.” 

“Okay.” Akira nodded, then followed Morgana and the child Yusuke. They walked through the hall and up a set of stairs before Yusuke reached out to touch a solid black wall. The black ink of the wall soaked into his hand, finishing the job of dying his yukata completely black. Once the ink was out of the way Akira and Morgana were able to see a colorful door in the place of the black.

“What is this place Kitagawa-kun?” Akira looked down at Yusuke. 

“My master’s greed.” Yusuke looked up Akira. “If you can beat the thing in there then the door will open.” Yusuke explained before lowering his mask back over his face. “You’ll be able to go back outside.” 

“So, we have to beat whatever is behind this door?” Morgana clarified earning a nod from Yusuke. “Alright, we can try it out. Hopefully it isn’t too strong… Are you ready, Newbie?” Morgana looked up at Akira. 

“I can… try?” Akira felt uncertain but he didn’t have a choice here did he? Without another word Morgana stepped up to the door to push it open. Unlike the rest of the house the room itself had no texture to it. This wasn’t a painting like the rest. It was colored though. The room was empty sans an easel with a painting covered in a cloth. 

Akira approached it slowly, keeping on guard for anything that might attack. He slowly grabbed the cloth to pull at it and slowly revealed a painting of a woman in red looking at a cloud of purple smoke. Akira frowned at the painting wondering why it was important but as he stared at the painting the woman’s hair began to move like it was alive. 

At first it just wiggled a little but as the tip of her ponytail took the shape of a dog’s head Akira stepped away. The dog’s head stayed black in color as the rest of the woman’s hair turned white and then bleed into her face and clothes until she was something that looked like a stretched out dog. Suddenly the head of the dog pressed against the canvas before breaking through it to float before Akira and Morgana. 

“You who have entered his sacred room will suffer for your trespassing.” the dog faced monster said growled. 

“Time to fight. Follow my example!” Morgana said, calling on his persona after tapping his mask. He sent out a comical looking red glove to punch the dog monster but it didn’t do much damage.

Unsure what to do, Akira did as Morgana did and touched his mask to summon his persona and send out a curse attack at the monster. When the attack connected it did nothing at all. The shadow simply laughed at him then spun around quickly to attack him, slapping him with its tail painfully. It wasn’t enough to knock him over but it wasn’t like it didn’t do anything. 

“It’s immune to curse attacks. Let’s try something else!” Morgana called out rushing forward to attack the monster with his sword. Akira followed his example once again to attack with his dagger. Slowly the two of them began to attack the monster weakening it over time while also taking some hits of their own. Morgana seemed to have some magical healing powers though so when Akira felt like he was about to topple over the cat healed him. “Okay let’s try Garu!” Morgana called then sent a blast of wind at the monster which seemed to do the trick as it knocked it right over. “Got it’s weakness! This fight is done!” 

“W-wait!” The monster cried out making the two of them pause. “P-please spare me. I’ll do anything.”

“Anything huh? Give us an item and we’ll consider it!” Morgana pointed his sword at the shadow. “This is called a Hold Up.” Morgana shot over to Akira with a grin. “Gets us useful stuff and money!” 

“Oh.” Akira nodded. He was sure this was important but also couldn’t bring himself to care. He was sore all over now and just wanted this over. 

“I don’t have anything…” The shadow sounded defeated then looked at Akira, “But I can offer my assistance. I-I’m starting to remember.” The shadow shook its head. “I’m not a shadow that belongs here. I exist in the sea of human souls. Please, my name is Inugami. My power is your power, use it however you wish.” The shadow explained before it gathered up into a ball of light. In a flash it took the shape of Akira’s mask then shot toward him to slam into his face in a flash of white light.

There was no pain or actual force from Inugami connecting with his face. No, instead it just felt like a lost piece of Akira joined him again. After the light faded Akira touched his mask feeling the new persona within him. 

“Oh! That’s how you do it huh? Nice!” Morgana sounded excited. “You got a new persona! Just like Master Igor said. I think I know what name you should use…” Morgana trailed off as Yusuke walked into the room. 

“You beat it.” Yusuke said. 

“Yeah. Now what?” Akira looked down at the kid.

“We go back out.” Yusuke turned toward the door that had closed again during the fight. Akira walked up to the door this time and twisted the knob to push it open. This time he didn’t exit into the hall from before but back into the maze where the others waited for him. 

“You’re okay!” Ann shouted, restraining herself from hugging Akira. He could see it in her form. Was she worried about him?

“We saw everything from out here. You handled yourself well.” Goro praised Akira making the omega blush. He was glad this world was in black and white. It would probably be hard to tell he was blushing right?

“The way you absorbed that shadow was cool!” Futaba approached Akira to look at his face. “And there’s nothing weird about it. It’s just part of you now like Arsene. Very cool.” 

“I figured out a code name guys.” Morgana announced,” Since he’s our trump card I think that Joker fits best.” Morgana swayed from side to side looking rather pleased with himself.

“Joker, that sounds like a good name.” Goro tapped his chin. 

“I like it.” Akira added. “It sounds cool.” He admitted hoping again that the lack of color in this world was enough to hide the flush on his face. 

“Cool, that’s settled then, now, are we going to talk about the shadow?” Futaba pointed behind Ryuji to where the child Yusuke had hidden himself. 

“Oh yeah, this one is weird.” Ryuji turned around to look at Yusuke who looked up at him, “So… you’re not going to fight us?” 

“Why should I?” Yusuke let his head fall to one side. “You’re here to help right?” 

“Uh, yeah.” Ryuji looked back at the party. “So, what’s your deal?” 

“My master keeps me here.” Yusuke said as he had said before. 

“Madarame is dead dude.” Ryuji looked confused. 

“Not here he isn’t.” Yusuke motioned at the door. 

“It must be a cognition of Madarame that keeps him here.” Goro guessed. “It’s like Futaba’s mother before.” 

“Yeah, so we have to beat the cognition this time?” Futaba looked uncomfortable as she turned toward Goro. 

“I think so,” Goro looked up at the thorny wall. “I think that’s enough here for now. We should come back tomorrow when we’re fresh. Akira looks tired from that fight anyway.” Goro looked around at everyone before resting his eyes on Akira. He wasn’t wrong. Akira felt exhausted after that fight with just the two of them. Were they all going to be so hard?

“You’re right.” Ryuji looked down at Yusuke. “So, we’ll come back tomorrow to help ya. Can you hang out?” 

“I’ll wait by the entry. Master can’t find me there.” Yusuke began to walk toward the exit of the palace. This time leading them until they were finally back at the exit. “I’ll wait here for you to return. Please hurry back soon.” 

Akira stared at the child as they walked away until Goro took out his phone to bring them back out of the Metaverse. The color shock was strange but it felt better than that black and while world. It felt so void of anything and left Akira feeling very uncomfortable. Was it right to poke into Yusuke’s life and force a change of heart on him? He wasn’t hurting anyone but himself.

“Hey man you did _awesome_ in there!” Ryuji dragged Akira out of his thoughts as he threw an arm around Akira to pull him close. “Like seriously that was bad ass! You figured out that the painting was our way forward and you can use two personas! That’s fuckin’ cool!” 

“O-oh?” Akira flushed at being pulled close like this.

“You gotta tell me what it’s like! Maybe I can do that?” Ryuji grinned widely. 

“Haven’t you been listening to Mona?” Ann cut in. “He said Akira’s the Trickster. Using a lot of personas is like _his_ thing.” 

“It’s certainly an amazing power.” Goro noted. “I wasn’t sure Morgana was behind honest with it but now that I’ve seen you use it I have to agree that it’s a pretty powerful ability. We’ll have to make sure you get the opportunity to get more of them.” 

“Yeah.” Ryuji began to march on as he guided Akira along, still holding him by the shoulder. Ann fell into step next to them and unlike before Akira felt less stressed about being so close to others, even if they were alphas. Maybe it was the persona he had gained? Was he getting more confident because of his power? If that was the case then yes, he did want more personas. He wanted to not be scared anymore. 

━━━━━━━♟️━━━━━━━

After an evening where Ryuji talked about how he and Goro had been the spark that started the Phantom Thieves. Akira hung on to basically every word as he listened to the story of how they faced down Kamoshida after he had taken advantage of a student and tried to use the ‘heat defense’ to get out of being punished. 

Ann joined them after her friend, Shiho, who was her girlfriend now, tried to kill herself by throwing herself off of the roof. Together with Mona they beat Kamoshida and made him confess what he did to her. Akira listened intently to the wondering what they had done to gain Futaba as an ally next but it was late and they needed to head back to the hotel and sleep.

So there they were, Akira and Goro, staring at the single bed in the room. Akira wanted to suggest again that he sleep on the floor but Goro wouldn’t hear any of that. “I’ll sleep on the floor.” Goro took one of the pillows and a spare blanket to lay them out on the floor. This was bad. They had to do that palace tomorrow and if he slept on the floor he’d be in a lot of pain right? 

“No, we should share.” Akira suggested before Goro could finish spreading the blanket out. “I mean, if you sleep on the floor and get all sore you’ll be a liability tomorrow right? It’s better you sleep on the bed too.” Akira looked away trying not to meet Goro’s gaze. 

“You’d be comfortable with that?” Goro sounded like he didn’t believe Akira could deal with it. He was probably right but Akira wouldn’t be able to forgive himself if Goro was hurt because of him not sharing the bed. 

“It’s just the smarter thing to do. I can deal.” Akira said firmly before he turned to look back at Goro with as much determination as he could muster. “We’ll both do badly tomorrow if one of us sleeps on the floor.” Akira said, trying to get Goro to agree with him. 

“You do have a point.” Goro looked thoughtful. After a minute he picked up the pillow and blanket to throw them back onto the bed. “Alright.” 

“Really?” Akira blinked. 

“You’re right about our performance. It won’t end well if one of us is sore and worried about the other.” Gor explained his reasoning as he started to remove his coat. “You can shower first if you like.” 

“Uh, okay!” Akira said quickly then gathered his toiletry stuff and pajamas before rushing into the bathroom. Once he was alone Akira turned to face the mirror and stare at himself. Somehow his own face was different. It didn’t look like him, or feel like it was him anyway. This person he looked like now seemed to have more confidence and it made him wonder if this was just because of that persona he gained today. Maybe it was more than that? “Personas.” Akira mumbled touching his face. He was changing, but was it a good thing? Only time would tell.

After washing up Akira stepped out to see Goro sitting on the edge of the bed looking at his phone. He glanced up when Akira came out then stood to grab his own things. As he walked past Akira he paused to look at the omega before speaking, “You know, I think your scent is fitting for you.” Goro said. 

“My scent?” Akira paused, folding his clothes to turn and stare at Goro. 

“Earthy espresso. It’s nice.” Goro explained, “I mean to say you don’t have to worry about blockers when it’s just us, you know?” Goro wasn’t meeting Akira’s eyes now and the omega was glad for it because he turned a pretty deep shade of red at Goro’s admission. No one but Ren had ever liked his scent before.

“Y-you have a nice one too!” Akira got out quickly then turned back to his clothes. “Same to you. The blocker thing. Yeah.” At this point Akira could feel the flush spreading to his ears as well. Why was he so embarrassed?

“Alright.” Goro said before he finally went to the bathroom to shower. Akira let out a long sigh before finally relaxing again. Why was this so embarrassing?

“Wait…” Akira paused after putting his dirty clothes into his laundry bag, “I don’t… feel guilty?” Akira wondered, then looked at his hand. Before he would have felt bad for basically flirting just now, but no. He felt silly but not like he was cheating. Was this because of his change of heart? No. It was just facts. Ren was dead. Akira was allowed to do this. Right?

Akira clicked his tongue in annoyance before plugging his phone in before throwing himself into bed. He grabbed handfuls of the pillow that would be his for the next week and curled up tightly around it. Could he really do this? He’d always been taught that omegas only ever bonded to one person and that was it. Ren and he bonded but he was dead now. So what was Akira supposed to do?

Minutes ticked by and Akira shuffled his body around to curl up under the blankets so when Goro came back out he was able to hide his head under the covers. He couldn’t even start with how it was going to feel to share a bed with someone again after so many years. Goro said nothing as he put his own things away then turned out the light before crawling into bed as well.

When Akira dared to look over Goro was faced away from him. Was he already sleeping? Akira chewed his bottom lip before he whispered, “Goro-san are you asleep?” He waited for a minute to see if Goro would reply and when he didn’t Akira wondered if it would be bad to snuggle with him. It had been so long since someone had held him as he slept or been close to him at all. 

Unable to help himself, Akira moved closer to Goro until there was only a few inches between them. He wasn’t touching him but he was closer now. The familiar scent of leather mixed with orange helped Akira as he finally fell asleep.

━━━━━━━💎━━━━━━

Summer days carried on like normal. Well, the new normal that Ren and Akira has set. Days spent with just one another for company and no one else. Some days would just be lazy cuddle days where they would watch TV and hold on another. Other days they would wander around the woods nearby to hike or go swimming in the river. Most nights they did the same thing though, Akira would sleep in Ren’s bed when their parents weren’t home and any time he did there was sex. It suited the twins just fine. They didn’t need to worry about anyone getting between them.

Ren often talked about what they would do when it was time to leave. He promised to get a job so they could move out of their parents house. He promised they would go far away where no one knew them, and they could start a family. Akira liked the sound of that.

It was nearing the end when one of their mutual friends reached out to the twins to invite them out for the fireworks festival before school would start again. They hadn’t been out much and with the last few weeks Akira had been feeling pretty sick lately. Maybe he just needed some fresh air. 

The twins decided to dress in yukata to meet with their friend. Once they arrived they realized that there were more people than first planned. Their mutual friend was there sure but there were also three others, two of them people Ren didn’t get along with. 

“Kazuki.” Ren greeted their friend, “Nice to see Yusei and Nadeshiko here.” Ren pointedly stared at the two he didn’t like. Yusei was a beta with an inferiority complex while Nadeshiko was another alpha who just liked to get into fights for the hell of it.

“Listen I know you don’t get along all that well but I think it’s a wrong foot thing.” Kazuki insisted. “Can we try?” 

“Sure!” Akira threw in before Ren could start talking. They were supposed to have fun tonight and what could be more fun than more people? “I’m hungry so let’s get some takoyaki maybe?” 

“Sounds like a plan.” Kazuki tried to hurry everyone along so maybe they could have some fun and forget about maybe getting into a fight. Kazuki turned to usher the others along into the festival grounds leaving Akira and Ren alone for a moment.

“I already just want to go home.” Ren shoved his hands into his sleeves. 

“Ren, no. Please? I want to have some fun with others tonight. Please?” Akira nudged his twin with his arm. “Look, if Nadeshiko-chan picks a fight with you we’ll just leave.” “I can deal with her. I just don’t want to is all.” Ren looked annoyed but he didn’t walk away. Instead he led them forward and into the festival grounds to follow their friends.

The night was still hot and the lights of the festival stands only added to the heat. The entire town was here with students talking excitedly about the next term of school while adults were already wondering if they prepared enough for the rainy season. Akira kept close to Ren as the small group decided to play for goldfish. 

Ren was horrible at it. He’d broken a few of the paper nets and looked like he was just getting frustrated with it. Akira on the other hand was a master. He managed to get him and Ren each a fish at once. The skills that he displayed were beyond the stand attendant hadn’t ever seen before.

“It just takes a deft hand.” Akira bragged, wiggling his fingers after they left the stand with their new fish. “Mad?” Akira glanced to Ren with a smirk. They were walking up the steps of the shrine to get good seats for the fireworks that were supposed to start off soon.

“Why would I be mad?” Ren turned his nose up at Akira, clearly annoyed that his twin had done so much better than him. “I’m hungry. I’m going to get some ikayaki.” Ren walked back down the steps leaving Akira with the others. 

“Your brother’s a real dick you know that Aki-kun?” Nadeshiko said once Ren was out of ear shot. 

Akira frowned at the words as he looked up at Nadeshiko a step above him, “He’s not. He’s just… not good with other people.” Akira tried to explain Ren’s attitude but doubted he was going to get through to them. 

“I dunno, Nadeshiko-chan has a point. He’s always so fuckin’ snappy with everyone and gets into fights with anyone who even gets close to you guys.” Yusei folded his arms across his chest. “If I didn’t know better I’d think he was fighting off people to keep you away from others.” 

“Guys no. That’s not true. Stop it.” Kazuki spoke up trying to put himself between Akira and the other two. 

“Yeah, it’s not true. So shut up.” Akira glared at Yusei.

“Just because your twin’s an alpha doesn’t mean you get to act like you are.” Nadeshiko growled and balled her fists. “So I’d watch what you say, unless you want me to kick the crap out of you too.” 

“Why are you even here?” Akira shook his head then looked at Kazuki. “Why is she even here? I thought we were your friend Kazu.” 

“Akira I had other friends! You and Ren keep to yourselves all the time! I need other people to talk to when you guys are busy ignoring my calls.” Kazuki tried to defend himself. “Do you know what people say about you guys?” 

“What?” Akira’s eyes turned from Kazuki to the other two.

“It’s not worth it.” Nadeshiko turned to head up the steps again but Akira grabbed her sleeve. “Let go Kurusu or I’ll hit you.” The alpha warned him and when he didn’t obey right away she yanked her sleeve forward roughly then threw her arm back to catch Akira in the face. “I said let go!” She shouted as the force of the hit knocked Akira’s glasses off of his face as well as knocked Akira off of his feet.

Suddenly he was falling down the stone steps of the temple and completely unable to stop himself. He heard a scream before his head slammed into one of the steps and he blacked out.

━━━━━━━♟️━━━━━━━

With a shout Akira bolted up from sleep to a sitting position. He panted and held an arm to himself as he recalled the dream and the memories that went with it. That fall had put him in the hospital for a week. His skull had fractured and his arm had broken in three places. Those injuries were nothing compared to what he had lost. 

“Akira?” Goro spoke sleepily, making Akira flinch from the sudden voice of another. Goro reached over to turn on a lamp next to him making Akira flinch again at the sudden reveal of light.

“S-sorry Goro-san.” Akira looked at him, “I didn’t mean to wake you. I’m… just…” He wanted to hide in the bathroom and just cry but at the catch of Goro’s scent he paused. It was so comforting and it made Akira long to be held.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Goro sat up as well.

“I-I--” Akira chewed on his bottom lip for a few seconds before he started to explain, “The summer before Ren vanished we went to a shrine with people to view fireworks. It was fine but… in the end I had a disagreement with one of them talking badly about Ren. I wanted her to apologize to Ren but she pushed me. She didn’t mean to, but it still sent me falling down the steps of the shrine.” Akira twisted the blankets in his hands tightly. “When I woke up I was in the hospital with a broken arm, a fractured skull, and… a miscarriage.” Akira admitted slowly. 

Goro said nothing as he waited for Akira to continue but Akira didn’t want to anymore. He was shaking all over as he remembered how scared he was that their parents would find out. Akira’s concern about his pregnancy had been far less than how he felt about if their parents had learned about what they’d done, what they’d been doing.

“You think I’m disgusting don’t you?” Akira asked without meaning to. He wanted to be accepted but knew that the context of his life and what he had done he didn’t deserve it. 

“I don’t.” Goro said without any bite to his words and it drew Akira’s attention to him. “What you did and what came out of that isn’t something I have any right to judge. It’s in the past and what’s important now is what you do with your life now.”

Akira was surprised at the words but as he thought about them it was what he needed to hear. Goro was right, this was his life now, Ren and his unborn child were gone. Akira needed to live for himself now, “Right.” Akira nodded before he let out a sigh. “I’m sorry I woke you.” 

“It’s fine Akira.” Goro smiled weakly. “Let’s try and get some more sleep.” The older alpha turned away to shut off the light then laid back down. Akira stayed sitting up for a few minutes more than slowly laid down. Once he was comfortable Goro turned over to throw an arm around Akira and hold him. At first Akira flinched under the touch but the feeling of a warm body next to him with such a familiar scent made Akira feel safe. “Thank you.” Akira said after a minute of relaxing into the embrace. 

“Sleep.” Goro grumbled sleepily. He was cute like this. 

Akira turned his body to face Goro’s and snuggled into his arms completely to press his face into Goro’s collar. It didn’t take long for Akira to drift back into sleep.

━━━━━━━💎━━━━━━

“--ctured in three places.” The first thing Akira heard was someone speaking quietly as if trying to whisper in the library. After a moment of focusing he could make out beeping and the muddled sounds of people walking by. Where was he? “Aki?” Ren’s voice came as his twin seemed to notice that he was waking up. “Hey. Do you remember your name?” 

“I’ll ask the questions Ren-kun.” Another voice spoke before a bright light assaulted Akira’s vision and he flinched away from it to save himself from being blinded. “Akira-kun do you know what day it is?” 

“Saturday?” Akira said. 

“Good, do you remember what happened?” The doctor asked.

“I… fell. Nadeshiko-chan was saying rude stuff about Ren and I told her to stop.” Akira fought to recall. “She went to walk away but I wanted her to apologize so I grabbed her. She pulled away and I--” Akira’s head was throbbing as he tried to remember everything and came to the conclusion that it was his own fault. “I lost my balance and fell.”

“So it was an accident?” The doctor asked to confirm. Once Akira nodded his head he pulled the light away and sighed, “Well, your injuries aren’t too bad, they’ll take a few weeks to heal however… Akira-kun are you willingly sexually active?” “Huh?” Akira looked up at the doctor in mild horror. “N-no. I mean, I’m not active.”

“Akira-kun,” The doctor let out a sigh as he looked at Ren who refused to meet his eyes, “you had an early stage miscarriage due to your fall.” “What?” Akira’s expression slowly changed from mild horror to complete disbelief. His lips quirked up into a smile as if waiting for the other shoe to drop as part of a sick joke but there was nothing. Ren wasn’t looking at him either. “I was… pregnant?” 

“Yes. It was still rather early, four weeks at best, however that’s still enough for your body to--” The doctor began to rattle off issues Akira would have now that there was no longer a baby in him. Akira wasn’t listening though. He instead stared at a particularly interesting fold in his hospital blanket. Why did he care? His body lost a baby, it would freak out, then everything would be normal again.

After a vague amount of time the doctor left the twins alone. Akira was only conscious of this when Ren crawled into the bed with him to hold Akira firmly, careful to avoid hurting him. “I’m so sorry Akira.” Ren whispered. 

Akira said nothing but did lean his head into Ren’s chest. After a long time of just laying there Akira finally spoke, his voice breaking a little as he spoke, “Mom and dad are going to find out.” 

“No, they put me in charge of everything they won’t know unless they talk to the doctor.” Ren shook his head quickly. “I’m not going to tell them, and you won’t either.” 

“I had a baby.” Akira mumbled. 

“It’s okay Akira.” Ren kissed the side of his head, “We’ll get past this.” Ren continued to hold Akira to try comforting him and Akira felt warm with the weight of another person holding him close. It felt right to be in Ren’s arms like everything was going to be okay. Akira pressed himself closer to Ren chasing the feeling of finally feeling safe. Why did it feel like he hadn’t been held in so long? Akira couldn’t remember but he wouldn’t turn down the embrace. “Do you want kids someday?” Akira asked curiously.

“Maybe someday. It’d be nice for both of us to have a real family for once you know? You could stay at home with them or you could work if you wanted. Either way I’d make sure we were taken care of. I’ll always take care of you Aki no matter what.” Ren pressed another kiss to him this time to Akira’s forehead. This was as far as either of them would dare go in public. Still they had the room to themselves for the moment so they indulged in the little ways they could. “That’d be nice. Thanks RenRen. You always know what to say.” Akira smiled. He had lost something he didn’t know he wanted but with Ren here it wouldn’t be lost forever. They’d have a family one day. With Ren around Akira would never have to worry about being alone again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm givin' y'all an update today because I have one more chapter of padding and I wanted to give a gift as well. :D I was working overnights at Wal-Mart for a hot second and that sapped all my creative energy but I'm free of that hell now. I'm going to try getting back into writing since my resolution is to write facet and maybe start on a sequel to camellia. woooo. thanks for sticking with me team. have a happy holidays!
> 
> preview: _“I’m not going to make you one. I’m just stating you’d be a good one.” Goro shrugged._
> 
> _“Hey let’s keep moving! You can flirt more outside!” Ryuji shouted, making Goro whip around to glare at him. “You don’t fuckin’ scare me princey boy. Let’s go.”_
> 
> _“I’m going to smother him in his sleep.” Goro smiled brightly as he spoke then looked at Akira. “You’ll be my alibi right?”_
> 
> _“Uh, s-sure?” Akira swallowed nervously._
> 
> _“Don’t get so worked up, Joker. It’s just a simple jest. Let’s go.” Goro began to lead them toward the door to open it and lead into the next part of the maze._


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the phantom thieves go back into yusuke's palace and meet his shadow again. they go through the palace to find yusuke's treasure but things aren't that easy and an unexpected event removes their way forward.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (๑`･ᴗ･´๑)

Morning came and with it a reminder of what had happened the night before. Goro felt heavy, like something was pressing down on top of him, and it was keeping him pinned to the unfamiliar bed. The weight was far greater than Morgana, so it wasn’t him. It was something much, much larger than a cat.

Goro opened his eyes to glance down at a mess of black hair. Last night, Akira had a nightmare that woke him so violently that Goro thought someone was attacking him. After talking to him, Goro learned that Akira had been dreaming about an accident he’d been involved in that had resulted in a misscarriage. It was a surprise to hear that Akira had been pregnant at one point, but then so was learning that his brother, Ren, had been his mate.

Goro knew palace rulers could enter their own palaces, but it wasn’t until Akira entered his own palace thatGoro was certain of its stability. Futaba had only been in her palace during the last few minutes. Akira, though, had been in his for a longer time and without the threat of a treasure in danger of being stolen. Maybe that was just an ability Akira had as the Trickster? There had to be more to Akira, Goro just didn’t know what yet.

Akira could use multiple personas and learned how to fight just by following Morgana’s words. He had a gift, that was for certain, but whether or not that was a good thing was up for debate. As gifted as he was, he was also unstable.

A knock on the door drew Goro’s attention, but he couldn’t get up. Akira was still lightly snoring on him and, for once, Goro felt guilty about the idea of waking someone up like this. Was it because he knew of Akira’s past? Was it perhaps because the petrichor in the room was just so intense? Awkwardly, Goro reached for his phone on the nightstand to check for messages. Finding none, he sends a text to Ann.

_** ANN TAKAMAKI ** _

**__** **_{_ ** _7:18am: **Goro** has started a new chat thread **}**_

**Goro** : Is that you at the door?  
**Ann** : yeah. you not being up at 5am is weird so i came to check on you.  
**Goro** : I’m presently pinned under my roommate.  
**Ann** : (◕‿◕) oh?  
**Goro** : No.  
**Ann** : as long as it was consenting.  
**Goro** : Stop.  
**Ann** : did you use a condom at least?  
**Goro** : I’m going to kill you.  
**Ann** : i assume you both had fun so it’s fine.  
**Goro** : Ann.  
**Ann** : Goro.  
**Goro** : Shut. The. Fuck. Up.  
**Ann** : LOL  
**Ann** : i’m guessing he likes to cuddle?  
**Goro** : Something like that.  
**Goro** : I’ll be down as soon as I figure out a way to wake him up without being heartless.  
**Ann** : aww that’s cute. you care!  
**Goro** : Stop.  
**Ann** : i support you.  
**Ann** : i mean, claimed omegas don’t really get new mates even if their last one is dead.  
**Goro** : …  
**Ann** : i’ll just have some coffee waiting for you when you come downstairs. you can tell me about your sexcapade over breakfast.  
**Goro** : Fuck you.  
**Ann** : (◡‿◡✿)  


_**{The chat thread has been closed.}** _

“Insufferable brat...” Goro complained quietly before letting his hand fall to the side. He needed to think of a way to wake Akira up. The omega on top of him was far too light for his height. He needed to put on some weight. Well, a few weeks of Sojiro’s curry would do the trick. 

It was getting close to eight and they needed to get to that palace soon. They only had so much time to find Kitagawa’s treasure before they needed to go back. “Okay,” Goro mouthed then reached a hand down to shake Akira, “Akira, it’s time to wake up.” Goro called to him gently. 

“Five more minutes, Ren.” Akira mumbled. Goro frowned. He knew Akira was still half asleep, but being called Ren was irritating anyway. 

“I’m not Ren. Wake up.” Goro shook more firmly now. It seemed to be the reminder Akira needed as he shot up and away from Goro as if he’d been shooked. “We have to get ready to go.” Goro sat up to watch as Akira turned away from him and hid his face in his hands. He was probably embarrassed he had clung so much to Goro. “I’m not upset you were on me. We just have to get started on Kitagawa’s palace today.” 

“Y-yeah.” Akira muttered then stood. “Going to use the bathroom!” He announced before stiffly getting up to hide himself in said room.

“He needs a lot of work.” Goro sighed looking at his phone again for some news. The Prime Minister of Germany had apparently released a list of people he had bought off and coerced into pushing through his legislation. He had helpfully included detailed evidence to back-up his claims, before killing himself immediately afterward. It implicated at least three major companies and two other public figures. “Looks like he felt guilty.” Goro muttered against his hand as he read through the list of names and details of the suicide. “Looks like the world’s better off without that scum anyway.”

━━━━━━━♟️━━━━━━━

“So, you had a cuddle buddy last night?” Ann teased Goro as soon as he sat down with her. She had picked a separate table for two intentionally away from the table where Futaba sat with Ryuji so Akira had to sit with them. Apparently this was their meet up place for the week. Fine. 

“If someone is prone to that and there’s only one bed it’s going to happen.” Goro ignored her smile to drag his coffee over to him. He debated if he wanted sugar but decided that his morning was already too sweet so he started to drink it black. A mistake. “Ugh. I miss Leblanc.” Goro complained as he grabbed cream and sugar.

“Uh-huh.” Ann sipped her water. “So you don’t have a little thing for him?” Ann asked. 

“We’ve barely talked.” Goro glanced at her. She was pouring in five packs of sugar into her own coffee. He thought to tease her about it but instead took a sip of his coffee before he spoke, “I’ve known him maybe a week and that’s being generous.” 

“So? Goro you forget I’ve been your friend since diapers. I’ve seen you with new people, especially if they’re fans, you’re a bitch.” Ann set her cup down. “Like, really. You turn people off majorly after you’ve talked to them for like five minutes, and eviscerate fans to make sure they know you’re actually a huge asshole.” 

“Listen, I don’t need fake people around me.” Goro poured in more cream then started to stir. “If they can’t handle me being a _‘bitch’_ they don’t deserve me being a _‘prince’_ or whatever the fuck.”

“Uh-huh, and you’ve been nice to Akira since, like, right away.” Ann smiled. 

“He lives with Sojiro and Futaba.” Goro excused. 

“So? You don’t let that kind of stuff hinder your shitty attitude.” Ann shrugged. She knew there was something more. Sometimes Goro wished that he had managed to not make contact with her again. She knew his worst parts and how to read him. Shit. 

“His scent is familiar.” Goro admitted keeping his attention on his coffee as he stirred. 

“His scent?” Ann repeated. 

“The smell before rainfall, petrichor.” Goro answered, wishing he could take back sitting with Ann. This was worse than Maruki’s attempts at therapy. Mostly because Ann was actually getting stuff out of him. “My mother had that scent.”

“Oh.” Ann sounded much more serious now. “Um, do you want to actually talk about this?” 

“I don’t know.” Goro shrugged. 

“Well, I mean… familiar scents are good right? Makes you feel more safe.” Ann tried to suggest but she knew she was out of her depth now. They hadn’t really talked about Goro’s mother. She didn’t like to bring up the sore subject and Goro didn’t like to talk about it. However, given the situation, Goro felt like he might benefit from explaining. 

“Have you caught his scent?” Goro asked her. 

“I mean… a little? I thought it was just, like, dusty coffee?” Ann grasped. “I didn’t connect the wet dirt smell as a separate thing.” 

“I wonder how you describe mine…” Goro stared at her with a deadpan expression. 

“Listen, I know what leather and fresh oranges smell like. I didn’t know pre-rain had a smell before, much less a name for it.” Ann frowned. 

“I’ll give you that.” Goro shrugged. “Apparently my scent and his… previous mate’s scent are similar.” 

“So you find some comfort in one another.” Ann hit the nail on the head. “Be honest with me, would you want to like… date him at some point?” 

“You mean do I consider him used goods and not want to have anything to do with him?” Goro countered her question with his own. “I feel like we’re both progressive enough for you to know that answer.” 

“You’re not actually answering.” Ann cleaned under her nail. 

“I would if our interactions lead that way. Does that answer it?” Goro was getting annoyed. He didn’t have anything against being with a claimed omega. His own mother had taught him that just because someone was claimed didn’t mean they were happy or actually with someone. “You piss me off sometimes you know that?” 

“I know. I love you too honey.” Ann blew him a kiss. 

She really was good at getting under his skin but more important than that was that she was good at reading Goro and she had no fear of him. He was grateful for that but sometimes wished he wished she wasn’t so close. She was just like a sister at this point. 

“Bitch,” he replied. She just laughed. 

━━━━━━━♟️━━━━━━━

Back in the palace the party found the shadow of Yusuke still waiting for them just inside the maze with his mask atop his head and his face buried in his knees as he hugged them to his chest. When Ryuji approached him Yusuke lifted his face to look at the blond with curious eyes. 

“You all came back.” Yusuke stated. 

“We did. We promised.” Akira said as he stepped forward to kneel down to his level. “Do you want us here?” 

“Yes.” Yusuke nodded. “I don’t want to die, but I don’t have a choice.” 

“Because Madarame?” Goro asked. 

“Yes.” Yusuke looked at Goro. “You can help me, right?” 

“That’s what we’re here for.” Ryuji offered a hand to Yusuke. The child stared at the hand for a moment before taking it and using it as an anchor to stand. Once he had dusted himself off he put his mask back over his face. “So, which way is your treasure?” 

“Sensei has it locked up at the end of the maze.” Yusuke pointed behind him. “We should hurry.” Yusuke grabbed Ryuji’s hand again to guide them inside and back towards the door that had appeared after Akira came out of the painting yesterday. 

“Yusuke, can I ask about the painting from yesterday?” Akira spoke up before they could approach the door. 

“What would you like to know about it?” Yusuke asked, looking up at Akira. 

“Was that your home before?” 

“Yes, that shack is where I lived with my Sensei. Although I called it my home, it wasn’t his.” Yusuke explained. He looked a bit upset. “My mother died when I was young, so my Sensei took me in. He raised me as his own and when I started to get interested in art he was elated.” Yusuke looked at the colorful door. “When I got older he started to say he was in an artist slump and if he couldn’t paint we’d lose our home. He asked to use my pieces to perpetuate his career and it worked. He was able to sell my paintings and keep us housed.” 

“I’m sensing a twist in this story.” Goro folded his arms. 

“When Sensei died I found out the truth.” Yusuke touched the door. “Behind this door was a room full of a painting called Sayuri.”

“I’ve heard of that one.” Ann said almost excitedly. “I mean… a lot of people have. Uh.” 

“What’s Saiyuki?” Ryuji asked. 

“ _Sayuri,_ was my master’s most well known painting. It depicted a woman in red looking into a cloud of purple. What she was looking at was considered the art world’s greatest secret.” Yusuke explained. 

“You speak of it in the past tense?” Goro questioned. 

“In the room I found a letter addressed to me by my sensei. He told me that not only was the Sayuri not stolen from him, but it was never his in the first place. It was my mother’s.” Yusuke looked dejectedly to the ground, “He stole it from her and watched her die.”

“What?!” Ryuji shouted. “That’s horrible!” 

“There was no way to prove it.” Yusuke shook his head. “All I could do was press past it and destroy all the fakes. Once they were gone I thought about what to do with the original. It was my mother, her self-portrait, but I never felt connected with her. In the end I just… hid it under the floor. No one would see it again.” 

“So your master lied to you.” Akira summarized. 

“Yes, but that wasn’t all he did.” Yusuke twisted the door to open it and show the next part of the maze. “We should go before his monsters find us.” 

“This is your palace though?” Ryuji sounded confused. 

“Ryuji, can’t you remember anything from high school?” Goro sighed. “Futaba was the ruler of her palace as well but the shadows there still attacked us. It doesn’t matter if the ruler is asking us for help. Somewhere in their cognition is something that doesn’t want us here. The same is true if we bring in the original.” 

“Wah?” Ryuji stared at Goro. 

“Akira was in his palace and met his shadow. It ended up trying to trap him in his palace to keep it alive.” Futaba explained. 

“So he was in his palace huh? Wild. Sorry I missed that fight.” Ryuji touched his chin. 

“I’m not, everyone had a damn speech and I didn’t need to hear another. Let’s go.” Goro motioned for the party to finally head through the door and into the next part of the maze. 

It was in this new area that the Thieves finally started to see the shadows of Yusuke’s palace. Even Goro had to admit they were creepy. The most common ones were broken canvasses walking around on splintered wood. They were ghostly in figure,the black canvas fabric pulled tight over what looked like a human face. 

“Okay, let’s teach Joker how to initiate combat.” Morgana suggested. 

Goro opened his mouth to tell Morgana to fuck off but after thinking about it Goro had to agree it would be good for him to know. Sometimes he really hated this cat. With a sigh Goro motioned for Akira to stay close to him as they followed a shadow from behind the dark cover of a statue, pillars now littering the maze. With the grace Goro had gained from his years of being a Phantom Thief,Goro sprinted to the wandering shadow ghost before jumping on it’s head and ripping off its black fox mask. 

“And that’s how we do it! Very stylish Crow!” Morgana called as everyone fell into combat with some Japanese oni looking thing. After a short fight the shadow acted as the one yesterday had and decided it wanted to obey Akira. Fine. Akira having another persona was probably a good thing. 

“Think you get it Joker?” Morgana asked. 

“I… think so? We just pull the masks off?” Akira asked. 

“The shadows in those forms are stupidly powerful for no reason. However, if we pull the masks off it exposes their true form and with it weaknesses we can exploit.” Goro explained. 

“Is Joker just going to eat every shadow we come across from now on?” Ryuji interjected when Akira opened his mouth. One by one everyone looked at him to just stare with slowly blinking eyes. “What?” 

“That isn’t how it works, Skull.” Morgana tapped a paw to his face. “Please ignore him. He just says the first thing that comes to his brain.” Morgana looked up at Akira. 

“Well if he’s not eating them what is he doing?” Ryuji folded his arms. 

“They turn into masks Skull!” Futaba groaned. “No vore in my good creepy palace!” 

“This Trickster shit is annoying.” Ryuji complained and Goro found he actually agreed with him. There was too much weird shit already going on already and now there was an added thing of Akira absorbing shadows to make them his personas? 

“Another painting!” Ann shouted, drawing Goro’s attention to the new clearing they’d walked into. “It doesn’t look like it’s done?” 

“It’s not.” Yusuke passed them by to approach the painting and touch the canvas. “Sensei must have removed the paint.” Yusuke put his palm flat against the painting before black began to drain from his yukata and into the canvas. Yusuke then began to move his hand to paint a scene until it was a scene of a school and his yukata was pure white again. “The next door forward is through here.” 

“Isn’t that Kosei?” Futaba asked. 

“Yes.” Yusuke turned to look at her. “This is the school I graduated from. Barely.” 

“What do you mean barely?” Ann sounded worried and Goro couldn’t blame her. Did he try to kill himself back then too?

“You’ll find out inside.” Yusuke motioned at the painting. “Touch it together.”

Goro frowned at this but did as suggested. The Thieves surrounded the painting and touched it in tandem, immediately being pulled inside. After traveling through darkness the team found themselves on the footsteps of Kosei high school. It looked like the real one with students scattered around, only the students weren’t moving. Goro was about to just ignore them completely when he noticed something about them. Each one of the student’s faces were covered in something that looked like an animated scratch out. The black scratches over their faces did nothing to hide the fact that each of the students turned to look at them as Yusuke appeared from the ground.

“Okay, I’m creeped out.” Ann shivered looking around at the students. They continued to stare until Shadow Yusuke pulled his mask down over his face. Once his face was hidden the students looked away. “Are they… staring at you?” Ann asked Yusuke. 

“They always stared at me after my master passed.” Yusuke said before he took a few steps up to the school doors. They were locked with an animated black lock. “It’s inside.” 

“What’s inside?” Morgana asked. 

“Can you open the door?” Goro asked instead. This shadow was a cryptic little shit, but he liked to help, so while they couldn’t get answers they could make progress. 

“It’s locked.” Yusuke answered and Goro let out an irritated sigh. 

“Come here Joker, I’m going to show you how to pick a lock.” Goro motioned for Akira to kneel down to the door as he pulled out a set of lockpick tools. “Listen carefully--” Goro explained how to pick the lock before it made a click sound then dissolved away. “The next time we find a lock you’ll pick it.” Goro stepped back then pushed the door open. 

Inside was shadowy and black. The darkness was so deep that it was impossible to see through. Goro wondered how they would get past this when Yusuke took point to guide them through the darkness by absorbing it. This was what they had seen outside when Morgana and Akira were taken into the painting yesterday.

They walked the hallway with Yusuke clearing the darkness away until they came to another solid black door. He touched it and more shadow began to absorb into Yusuke’s yukata until it was practically radiating off of him. “You can enter now.” Yusuke said with a labored breath. Was the action of absorbing the ink draining?

“Are you okay?” Ann reached to touch the shadow who pulled away sharply. 

“Don’t. I’m holding it back.” Yusuke shook his head. “Go.” He motioned at the door. It was another colored peacock feather door like the one from his home. 

Goor opened this door and stepped inside leaving room for the others to enter one by one until Yusuke closed the door. Once he did voices began to whisper all around them. 

“ _There’s Madarame’s copycat._ ” “ _I bet he stole some of Madarame’s work to act as his own._ ” “ _He should be ashamed of himself._ ” “ _Why is he even here?_ ” “ _Madarame is rolling in his grave._ ” “ _Fake’s shouldn’t be allowed here!_ ” “ _Get out!_ ” 

The whispers turned into shouting all around them until a single light turned on in the middle of the room to highlight a painting. Goro had no idea what it was, he wasn’t much for art, but it seemed to draw a lot of anxiety from Yusuke’s shadow. What was this painting?

“It seems… resentful.” Ann commented. “Like it was drawn with a lot of anger.” 

“Who’s there?” A voice spoke before a figure stepped out from behind the painting. The person, a cognition maybe, was solid black with no mask or features at all. “Kitagawa-kun… have you come back to show me your own talent or your rip offs?” 

“Rip offs?” Ann questioned. 

“That’s what’s been draggin’ Yusuke down. People sayin’ he’s stealing Madarame’s style or unreleased works.” Ryuji glared at the shadow. 

“I never stole anything. He did.” Yusuke spoke quietly. “All I wanted to do was help him and now I must suffer for it.” Yusuke bowed his head. 

“What do you mean?” Futaba asked.

“Kitagawa-kun has been living off of Madarame-sensei’s teachings and kindness for so long he never found his own style.” The figure spoke. “Over and over again he would submit things that were not his own but of Madarame-sensei’s works. Were it up to me I would have expelled him but I didn’t have that authority.” 

“Sensei was in an art slump. All great artists get them. He couldn’t paint, so I did. I would paint him pieces he could claim as his own. When Sensei died I tried to show the world my own art and I was told these must have just been unreleased Madarame’s pieces.” Yusuke’s shadow explained slowly lifting the mask from his face. “He used me until the end then made it impossible to start my own career after.” 

“What a monster…” Goro clicked his tongue. 

“How dare you?!” The figure snapped growing in size. “There will be no speaking of Madarame-sensei in such a way! You will pay for your transgression, with your life!” 

“Shit, here it comes!” Ryuji touched his mask as the black figure morphed into a large statue holding paint brushes of different colors and sizes in each of its hands.

The cognition wasted no time in attacking them, swiping at Ryuji with a yellow tipped brush bringing zio damage down on him. Ryuji shook the attack off, electricity being his element, then hit right back with his persona’s ship in a hard physical hit. 

“Focus on bringing down the arms.” Futaba called from her persona. “They’re supplying energy to the main body and without the arms it’ll just turn into a useless lump of rocks.” 

“Looks like each arm is an element.” Ann shouted as she dodged out of the way of an ice attack. 

“Focus on finding what each is weak to!” Goro then summoned Robin Hood to launch a bless attack at the black ink brush hoping that it would be weak to bless. The damage went through but it didn’t look like it was enough to stagger, instead the hand flicked the brush back at him splashing him with blank ink. 

For a moment he wondered if it was just going to stain his while clothes but a second later it felt like he was being squeezed from all around. He looked down at himself to realize that the ink that had splashed on him turned into thorny vines that began to restrict around him. “Fuck!” Goro shouted as he took a knee. He tried to resist, but the ink was heavy and the pain was already too much.

“Crow!” Morgana called but couldn’t make it to his side to help him as he was hit with a splash of yellow ink that zapped him and knocked him over. This cognition was throwing their weaknesses right back at them. This was bad.

He could see Ryuji trying to fight off the fire paint while Ann was busy with her own icy problem. They were too busy to help. Goro wasn’t sure how much pressure he could take before the constriction around his middle broke a rib. After this thought passed his mind Goro felt someone pulling at his coat. He looked over to see Akira pulling at one of the vines to hook his dagger under it and cut his loose. 

“Are you okay?” Akira asked, dragging Goro back to his feet. 

“Yes, thanks.” Goro leaned on Akira for a moment then noted how the rest of the party was doing. “You might have the best shot at staggering this thing.”

“What?”

“You’ve gained a few new personas right? We can distract it but you need to hit as many of the arms as you can to stagger it. Think you can handle that?” Goro glanced at Akira with a smile.

“I--I can try.” Akira nodded then looked back at the cognition. He seemed to be taking in all the information from the cognition and advice from Futaba that he could, and then he was off. Goro took out his gun to shoot and distract the cognition as Akira went through the personas he had and started to dismantle each of the hands.

Goro freed Morgana who in turn saved Ann and Ryuji. By the time everyone was recovered Akira had staggered the cognition and the party was able to pile on the damage. When the dust settled the cognition was rubble on the ground. A few seconds passed before the rubble began to shake. The chunks turned into sand which then began to swirl around before sliding across the room to the door they had entered from. The sand covered the door before sinking into it, changing the scene on the door into a painting of a forest with a river. 

“Okay…” Ryuji raised an eyebrow before looking around the group. “So we go through?” 

“I think so?” Ann walked over to the door to look at it. 

“You did good, Joker.” Morgana approached Akira to look up at him. “You’re getting used to changing personas and using type advantages.” 

“I’m just guessing.” Akira looked surprised to be getting a compliment. He wasn’t used to them was he? “It wasn’t that big a deal.”

“He’s not just giving you a verbal pat on the head. You saved me and everyone else by proxy. You’ve got talent and you’ve got a good head on your shoulders. You didn’t panic.” Goro decided to praise Akira and see how he took it. “Being able to stay calm in that kind of situation is a good sign. You’d make a good leader.” 

“M-me? No. I’m not a leader. I’m just a follower.” Akira shook his head.

“I’m not going to make you one. I’m just stating you’d be a good one.” Goro shrugged. 

“Hey let’s keep moving! You can flirt more outside!” Ryuji shouted, making Goro whip around to glare at him. “You don’t fuckin’ scare me princey boy. Let’s go.” 

“I’m going to smother him in his sleep.” Goro smiled brightly as he spoke then looked at Akira. “You’ll be my alibi right?” 

“Uh, s-sure?” Akira swallowed nervously.

“Don’t get so worked up, Joker. It’s just a simple jest. Let’s go.” Goro began to lead them toward the door to open it and lead into the next part of the maze.

━━━━━━━♟️━━━━━━━

Goro lost track of how long they had been in the palace. That was a common thing inside. There was no way to tell if time was passing at a normal pace. All they had to go by were periodic reminders from Futaba, but those always felt like hours had passed rather than minutes.

The crawl was giving Akira more access to new personas and making him a one man party. Goro was tempted to let the omega loose on a group of shadows to see if he could take them out on his own. It wasn’t likely something that would go over well, but Goro could see him tearing through a group of shadows like a hot knife through butter.

“Another painting.” Ann announced as she rounded a corner to yet another clearing. This one was best described as a pencil sketch on the canvas. “What is that?” 

“A… museum?” Ryuji leaned in close trying to make out the lines. 

“That’s right. Impressive.” Shadow Yusuke looked up at Ryuji. He’d put his mask back on over his face more often the further in they went. He seemed more nervous the closer to the end they got. “Past this painting is the last zone, then you’ll find him.”

“Madarame?” Akira asked. 

“Yes.” Yusuke looked back at him. “He doesn’t expect you yet, so if you can strike quickly you can get him out of the way then find the Treasure.”

“It’s weird getting this much help from a shadow…” Morgana frowned. 

“Clearly Kitagawa-kun doesn’t really want to die but the burden of his past is really weighing him down.” Ann looked at Yusuke with an expression of pity. “It’s okay Kitagawa-kun. We’ll save you.”

Yusuke looked at Ann for a moment before he slowly moved the mask down from his face to show his eyes to her. He looked like he was crying. “Thank yo--” Yusuke spoke but suddenly cut off when a shadow loomed over his head. He snapped his mask up over his face again just as a large papery hand reached down to try and close around him. 

“Back off! Carmen!” Ann ripped her mask off to set the hand on fire but as it turned to ash more of the hands came down. Some kind of paper cloud was over them. 

“Destroy the cloud!” Akira shouted, summoning one of his new persona to set the cloud on fire with Ann. 

As the cloud burned a voice spoke, “Yusuke, you useless boy. Return to my side and complete your final work.” 

“No!” Yusuke shouted at the sky. “I’m not your puppet anymore, Master! I’m allowed to live on my own!” 

“Tell ‘em Yusuke!” Ryuji cheered until the walls around the party began to rumble. For a moment everyone watched the thorns, waiting for something to happen before thick vines shot out from the wall and moved to wrap around everyone.

Each of them managed to fight them off for a minute, but soon there were too many coming from all directions. Eventually they were each tied up in a cocoon of thorns threatening to stab them if they moved. Fuck. 

“Stop! I’ll go!” Yusuke shouted as the vines tightened. “Please let them go! I’ll finish it!” 

The vines stopped moving now as Madarame’s voice spoke again, “Good.” The maze started to rumble again as a wall opened. Goro could see all the way down to the end through the new opening. Would it stay? Could they follow Yusuke? 

“I’m sorry.” Yusuke turned back to everyone. He took his mask off of his face to show them how genuine he felt. “Thank you for trying to help me.” Yusuke bowed, then turned away to leave. He paused for a moment to place his mask on the painting before he turned to finally leave. 

Once he walked through the space in the maze he paused to look back one more time before the vines closed him off from view. At the same time, the party was released from their hold. Were they screwed?

“Yusuke!” Ryuji ran to the spot they’d last seen the shadow to try and rip the wall away to follow him. 

“We can’t get through that Skull.” Goro called but he was still going. “Let’s look at this.” Goro approached the canvas and the fox mask left behind. He leaned close to inspect the mask and tried to pull it off, but when his hand touched it the back of the mask bled into the canvas to spell out words, “Only an artist can pass this place.” Goro read. “What does that even mean?” 

“Does the mask come off?” Akira asked, prompting Goro to try pulling it off. When he couldn’t get it to budge he shook his head. “Well… what do we do?” 

“Hey, you guys said Joker went into his palace right?” Ryuji came back to them, his yellow gloves covered in blood from trying to get through the thorns. 

“Yeah?” Morgana looked confused but Goro knew what he wanted to ask. He wanted to try bringing Yusuke into his own palace too. 

“That could work but it’s insanely dangerous.” Goro stared at Ryuji. “He could get killed before we even make it to this point. Then the palace will collapse with us all inside it.” 

“I know but if we don’t fucking try he’ll die anyway!” Ryuji shouted. “I’d rather try than stand by and watch him suffer until the end!” 

“So… Skull wants to bring Kitagawa-kun inside his own palace?” Ann exchanged a look with Futaba. 

“I mean, we know it works. I ended up in mine, and Joker went into his.” Futaba brought up her screens. “We’ve been in here all day. Let’s head out and talk about this more.” 

“The only thing we need to talk about is how we bring him inside.” Ryuji said firmly. “We gotta do it.” 

“I think I’m with Skull.” Akira spoke loudly. All eyes were on him now, “I mean that… wouldn’t it be better if he knew? I learned and I fixed myself right? You didn’t have to do anything with stealing a treasure and changing my heart.” Akira placed a hand against his chest. “We can do that too. With him.” 

“We might end up with another persona user.” Futaba looked up at Goro. 

“Just what we need.” Goro said dryly.

“Think about it. We can expand to another branch of Japan.” Futaba teased. “Come on Crow. Don’t you want the Phantom Thieves to go global?” 

“Fuck no. Do you know how much trouble it is to be popular?” Goro growled. 

“Uh, duh, Medjed? Alibaba? I’m world renown.” Futaba clasped her hands behind her back. “We’ve got a supermodel, a detective TV personality, a trackstar, and that video I posted of Mona back flipping is viral. We’re a group who won’t let fame go to our heads.” Futaba grinned. 

“Can we just get out of here?” Goro sighed then turned to leave not interested in listening to more reasons why the Phantom Thieves should be a global name. He wasn’t about to sit here and turn suicide cases into persona users. Some of the people they saved were still pretty unstable and there was no way they would make good Thieves.

Goro was pointedly trying to ignore that he felt like Akira still wasn’t quite on their level, he struggled to keep up with them in combat. He was an impressive fighter and had an amazing power. On top of that he was this ‘Trickster’ that Morgana had been looking for over the last few years. If Goro had turned him away there was no telling what Morgana would have done. Maybe he was biased. 

Akira was cute and had a comforting scent. He seemed willing to learn. Goro wanted to help him become more confident and maybe teach him how to take control of his life. It didn’t help that Ann’s words were still rattling around in his head. Did he flirt with Akira without realizing it? 

On second thought, he was definitely biased.

━━━━━━━💎━━━━━━━

It was creeping toward the end of summer when Goro’s phone pinged with a message. He was between shoots at the moment so he pulled it out of his pocket to check who was messaging him. He was honestly a bit surprised when he saw a name he was familiar with but wasn’t aware had his number. 

Futaba Sakura was the name of the Phantom Thieves most recent target, as well as their newest teammate. During their jaunt in Futaba’s palace she had somehow also come into possession of the Meta-nav and, with it, she ended up inside her own palace right as they were trying to steal her treasure from a rather nasty cognition of her own mother.

Since then Futaba had been sleeping a lot but it seemed like she was awake now.

_** FUTABA SAKURA ** _

**__** **_{_ ** _3:22pm: **Futaba** has started a new chat thread **}**_

**Futaba** : you’re not busy now are you?  
**Goro** : Not presently. I’m between shoots. What do you need?  
**Futaba** : need is a strong word.  
**Futaba** : are you busy tomorrow?  
**Goro** : I have some free time in the afternoon.  
**Futaba** : can we talk?  
**Futaba** : like, where sojiro won’t hear?  
**Goro** : Where do you want to meet?  
**Futaba** : uhhhh  
**Goro** : Should I pick you up?  
**Futaba** : yes  
**Goro** : Okay. I’ll see you around 2pm?  
**Futaba** : ok  


_**{The chat thread has been closed.}** _

The following day Goro made his way to the Sakura house to wait for Futaba to come out. She sent him a message that she would be down soon, but soon turned into thirty minutes before the door to the house opened a crack. Goro looked over to see a part of Futaba’s face peeking out from behind the door. 

“Are you coming out?” Goro asked. 

“Hhnnn, no.” Futaba answered nervously. Even though they saved her from suicidal thoughts she was still a shut in that hadn’t changed much at all. 

“Do you want me to come in?” Goro hadn’t moved yet.

“No.” Futaba answered in the same nervous voice from before. “I just… I want to go out but… hhhhh.” 

“How about for now we just try opening the door all the way?” Goro suggested as he turned to face her completely. There was a moment where Futaba seemed to debate closing the door instead, but after a moment she finally opened the door completely. “There you go. What did you want to talk about Sakura-chan?”

“Just Futaba is good. Not that Sakura isn’t, like, a nice name, but it makes me feel weird.” Futaba rubbed her fingers together. “I-I wanted to talk about… uh, this.” She motioned with clasped hands to the area around her. There were a few things she could have been talking about and Goro wasn’t sure which. 

“All… this?” Goro motioned at the house.

“Kinda? Yeah? I mean… ugh, ok. I want to do better.” Futaba said, looking away from Goro. “I want to get better, and go to school and not have Sojiro worry about me.” Futaba explained and Goro started to understand. “It’s hard to do it alone though.” 

“You want support venturing out of the house again?” Goro asked for clarification. Why did it have to be him that ended up getting asked this shit all the time though?

“Yes.” Futaba nodded quickly, “Ever since my mom died I’ve been… terrified of going out. Like, if I shut the world out then everything would be okay again, you know? But that’s not true.” Futaba fidgeted in place for a few seconds. “I want to do better for Sojiro who’s been taking care of me while still trying to keep mom’s work alive. It’s the least I can do.” 

“I doubt Sojiro expects you to just get over your mother’s death.” Goro shook his head. “But if you want to get out there and live in the world with us then I’ll help you.” 

“I-if I get better I can help you too. Ryuji said I was a good navigator. I can do something for you guys to repay you for what you did for me.” Futaba looked hopeful. Goro wanted to turn down her offer to help navigate but Ryuji had been right. Mona had recently been slipping and it was hard to keep doing palaces like this if Morgana couldn’t point out enemy weaknesses.

“We’ll see how it goes.” Goro offered as an answer. They could use her but he wasn’t going to make that kind of promise to force her to join either. The last thing Goro wanted was for Sojiro to ban him from the shop or something for trying to drag his daughter into danger. “So, do you just want to talk at the door or step outside and talk to me in the sun?” 

Futaba looked up as if trying to debate if she wanted to be in the sunlight at all. After a few moments of thought she carefully stepped outside. “I-I did it!” Futaba looked at Goro. She was holding her breath and looked like she was going to collapse. Was she agoraphobic at this point?

“Good job. You don’t have to move any more than that. You can just take in the sun and the air.” Goro tried his best to be patient with her. “Nothing is going to hurt you.” 

“I-I know that!” Futaba called back before closing her eyes to just relax and take in her surroundings. “I got this.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so apparently i'm updating once a month but at least i'm updating. woo. i just need to get the spark back. i will at some point. maybe.
> 
> preview: _“I put Madarame behind me!” Yusuke shouted. “I left it behind in that home!”_
> 
> _“No you didn’t. You buried it under wood and ran away crying.” The shadow said. “If you had faced it for real then you would have exposed the lie!”_
> 
> _Yusuke recoiled from those words before speaking quietly. Akira was barely able to make out his words, “I didn’t want to ruin his legacy.”_
> 
> _“The legacy of a scam artist with no talent? He poached off of us for years and when he died he took our chance to shine as well!” Yusuke’s shadow was shouting at him now._  
> 

**Author's Note:**

> [twitter](https://twitter.com/lkyjellyl) || [discord server](https://discord.gg/B2gPpSv)( 18+ please be mindful of this! READ THE RULES. )


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